History of China

(1) During the start, when the first settlers came to China, the Chinese have been an extraordinary civilization, from its philosophies to technologies. It has been ruled by Emperors who have tried to unite China. Those who were successful were usually blessed with a Dynasty which lasted for a while. The Chinese have prospered and suffered. The ancient history of China reflects the beauty of Chinese ancient culture and morality. With more than 5000 years of history, China has a wonderful culture and splendid civilization. History of China) China’s history is told in traditional historical records that take us back to the three sovereigns and five emperors about 5,000 years ago, enhanced by archaeological records dating to the 16th century BC. China is known as one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations. From the oldest resident in China and the oldest dynasty, Xia dynasty, there have been millions of well-known people who made great contributions to the harmony, unity and growth of Chinese civilization.They contain emperors such as, Hanwudi (Emperor of Han dynasty) and Li Shimin (Emperor of Tang Dynasty), famous scholars such as Confucius (Great Educator/Guru in Spring and Autumn period), and great scientists like Zhu Chongzhi and Zhangheng. It is their great contributions and efforts that made China appealing and pleasant today. (History of China) Chine has a continuous civilization and the world’s oldest people, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia.China has the world’s longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions, such as what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham called the ‘’four great inventions of Ancient China’’, paper, the compass, gunpowder and printing. China’s cultural area of interest, historically, has spread across East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customers and writing syst ems being taken to great extent by neighbours such as Japan, Korean and Vietnam. China Facts and History) China, with a population of more than one billion people, is a country full of marketing potential. Having so many potential consumers, it usually gives out a positive attitude on how any product could reach its target audience. Nonetheless with a country so rich in history and culture, there are many factors to be taken in account by marketers. Some of the most important and influential elements would be the monetary policy, currency system, market agreements and environmental factors of the country. Overview of China's History) China’s business structure has been fluctuating from time to time. During 1976 to 1985 a ten year plan stressed improvement in economic management and a bigger role for private and collectively owned (as opposed to state-owned) enterprises. They still continued to attract western technology and investment and did a program of incentives to increa se agricultural production. New policies were introduced in 1984 which called for further delegation of economic planning and for growing reliance on market forces to figure out the prices of consumer goods.Since the early 1990s the government of China continued to ease controls on the economy. While taking a look at China’s history from a business structure, it is essential to check their economics background and other factors such as National Output, Labour, Communications, Commerce, Government and more. During the 1990’s China’s business structure started improving. The annual gross domestic product (GDP) of china was about $544. 6 billion.Agricultural outputs (which also includes some small-scale industries in rural areas,forestry and fishing) started increasing and accounted for about 24 percent of domestic income and industrial output (which includes manufacturing,mining, electricity generation, building and construction) accounted for 42 percent. Chinaâ⠂¬â„¢s labour force is one of the important facts in their business structure, their labour force in 1996 was estimated at nearly 584 million people. China has issues with unemployment and underemployment because of fast amount of population growth rate.About one-quarter of the populations was 15years of age or younger during the 1990s, therefore it was assured that a huge amount of young people will enter the labour force each year. (Overview of China's History) About 60 percent of their labour force consists of agricultural workers. The circulation of commodities in China made a huge change in 1979, state-owned enterprises have been unbound to obtain few of their supplies and organize a part of their product on the market; extensive use of advertisement as a source of information has also been clear.Over the years the reorganization of commerce in urban centers, has brought about a rapid growth of collectively and individually owned businesses, such as restaurants, teahouses, inns , hairdressing establishments, photography studios, tailor shops, and all types of repair and maintenance services. (Overview of China's Marketing History) It is very complex to identify exactly when theTextile industry started. Archaeological studies imply that the first textile, different from fur or skins sewn together was felt (non-woven) cloth created by compressing and condensing woollen fibers.It is believed that the locations where textile was first used are; Egypt, India, Turkey and China. Ever since ancient years, China was a strong player in the textile market. Textile production in China from the earliest evidence were cocoon of bombyx mori, the domesticated silkworm, which happened to be found in Xia, Shanxi, which was dated around 5000 and 3000 BC. Around just about 4000 BC the first textile fragments were found in Yuyao, Zhejiang. Scraps of silk were found in Huzhou Zheijiang, which happened to be back to 27000 BC. China's Textile and Clothing Industry) Since 1949 tex tile and clothing has been one of China's traditional industries and has remained as one of the important industries in modern China. This industry has experienced serious reforms and reached high growth for a long period of time. China has turned into the world's largest exporter and producer of many products in this industry. Chinese firms concentrate on the low-end product markets. They are still very poor in management and marketing skills.Technologies in this industry are not yet advanced and profit margins are pretty low. (China's role in the Global Textile Industry) Around 1979 China completely started its foreign trade, In 1979 China solved certain trade restrictions, paving the way for increases in the relatively small foreign investment and trade activity and by the early 1990s yearly exports totalled about $92 billion and imports about $104 billion. (Facts and History of China) China’s success has been primarily due to manufacturing as a low-cost producer.This is q ualified because of a combination of cheap labour, good infrastructure, relatively high productivity, favourable government policy and possibly undervalued exchange rate. (History of China) 5000 years have passed and the Chinese nation and society are welcoming much development in the 21st century. With the collective energy of 1. 3 billion people, China will enter a new phase in the 21st century and create a miracle for it people and the world. (History of China) .

Minimum Wage Debate Essay

Poverty a problem the world has been faced with since things had value. People who live in poverty have families to feed and they have to work to feed them. As of October 2012 the minimum wage is 7.25$ an hour. That amount may have worked 3 Â ½ years ago when we implemented the new minimum wage but it doesn’t cut it anymore for the following 2 points. 1. Prices have been continuously getting higher. 2. Money is becoming worth less. Moving on to my first point prices are continuously getting higher. The average gas price for unleaded fuel in Virginia on July 7 2009 was 2.61$, a pound of bacon in July 2009 cost between 2/3$ and since then it has doubled in prices and now costs 5/6$. A kilowatt hour on average cost now cost 1.67 in July 2009 they cost almost .40$ less a 1.23$. These are only a few examples of the huge increase of prices on everything. People who were making the same amount of money 3 Â ½ years ago are making that same amount of money and can only afford around half of what they used to. A report from www.cnn.inflation.com shows that the huge increase in prices has led to a huge increase of people who are now classified as living in poverty. We need to increase the amount we pay these workers so that not only can we help balance the economy, but so we can help people get back on their feet. Moving on to my second point. Money is continuously becoming worth less. As of July 7, 2009 when he most recent minimum wage law was passed money has become worthless. According to www.minimumwage.gov money in the last 3 Â ½ years as become worth 5% less than its original value; meaning that when they made minimum wage 7.25$ now it is really only worth 2009’s equivalent of 6.88$. Though .37$ doesn’t seem like a lot once you add it up it can make all the difference, and for families who live paycheck to paycheck this can become a huge devastation. People always deserve to pay for what there government does. Though they are the ones that vote the politics into office it is the politician’s responsibility to make a better America. Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit. ~Eli Khamarov, Lives of the Cognoscenti For these reasons Prices have been continuously getting higher, Money is becoming worth less. I urge you to pass tis bill.

Paulo Coelho Life Essay

Through an extensive researching and reading most of his books, I am able to present Paulo Coekho: One of the writers more sold and known worldwide. As a huge fun of Paulo Coelho I have learned he is not only a famous writer; but he is also a complex character, an adventurer, and a seeker of new things which led him to try all the good and bad things that presented on his way. In order to understand his books is important to learn about the painful moments of his past For instance the journey through the deserts of drugs, black magic, jail, etcetera. Paulo Coelho was born August 24th, 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [1] and attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with â€Å"My dear, your father is an engineer. He’s a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?†[1] After researching, Coelho concluded that a writer â€Å"always wears glasses and never combs his hair† and has a â€Å"duty and an obligation never to be understood by his own generation,† amongst other things.[1] At 16, Coelho’s introversion and opposition to following a traditional path led to his parents committing him to a mental institution from which he escaped three times before being released at the age of 20.[2][3] Coelho later remarked that â€Å"It wasn’t that they wanted to hurt me, but they didn’t know what to do†¦ They did not do that to destroy me, they did that to save me.†[4] At his parents’ wishes, Coelho enrolled in law school and abandoned his dream of becoming a writer. One year later, he dropped out and lived life as a hippie, traveling through South America, North Africa, Mexico, and Europe and started drugs in the 1960s.[5][6] Upon his return to Brazil, Coelho worked as a songwriter, composing lyrics for Elis Regina, Rita Lee, and Brazilian icon Raul Seixas. Composing with Raul led to Paulo being associated with magic and occultism, due to the content of some songs.[7] In 1974, Coelho was arrested for â€Å"subversive† activities by the ruling military government, who had taken power ten years earlier and viewed his lyrics as left-wing and dangerous.[4] Coelho also worked as an actor, journalist, and theatre director before pursuing his writing career.[7] In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, a turning point in his life.[5][8] On the path, Coelho had a spiritual awakening, which he described autobiographically in The Pilgrimage.[9] In an interview, Coelho stated â€Å"[In 1986], I was very happy in the things I was doing. I was doing something that gave me food and water – to use the metaphor in â€Å"The Alchemist†, I was working, I had a person whom I loved, I had money, but I was not fulfilling my dream. My dream was, and still is, to be a writer.†[10] Coelho would leave his lucrative career as a songwriter and pursue writing full-time. you cannot be all over Africa because there are some places they don’t even have bookstores. But, funny enough, they have the Internet! It is unbelievable. So I post all my books for free on the Internet, and people can download them. If they like it, they are going to pay. You have to trust people.

Why was television able to displace radio at the centre of the home in Essay

Why was television able to displace radio at the centre of the home in the late 1950s - Essay Example Talking about reasons we cannot take in consideration only technical progress and therefore technical reasons. When one media channel of information for mass perception is changed and replaced by another, not only practical and technical reasons are at hand but also people’s ability to adapt, social challenges, and general mood of the society. Radio was the most widespread, successful, and popular media source in the twenties, thirties, and forties in the United States and Europe. Historical changes and political collapses urged society to develop new and fast means of communication and entertainment. Radio as a mass media instrument quickly developed after the First World War because progress in communication was a necessary tool during the wartime. The Roaring Twenties masterfully inclined the idea of home entertainment and news broadcasting using radio transmissions (Mowitt, 2011) Of course, printing was at the high level too offering their consumers all the necessary package of global events, comic strips, home recipes etc. But with cinema being used only for the art and entertainment, collective consciousness quickly developed a new necessity for the ability to hear everything about anything without a need to leave their house. In 1936 Federal communications Commission’s first chief commissioner Anning S. Pral l named radio â€Å"a combination of the schoolhouse, the church, the public postrum, the newspaper, the theater, the concert hall – in fact all media devoted to the education and enlightment of the people† (Prall, 1936). Radio was the voice of the world, the voice of the time in the late period of the first half of the twentieth century, century of global and local breakdowns. Radio was used as a generator of public opinion, describing and uniting all classes and groups of people, creating the means of propaganda for the purposes of governments and entertainment for the average citizens. With cinema still being on the low level and considering

Bacteria cross contaminants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Bacteria cross contaminants - Essay Example After 24 hours of growth on both MacConkey and r2a plate, small growth was observed in all the samples. Similarly after 48 hours, large colonies were observed on both media for samples ec1 and ec2 but this was relatively higher on ec5 and ec 6.After undertaking Gram staining, it was observed that all the samples on both media had Gram positive bacteria. Catalase test indicated positive results on all the samples. According to the result findings, the most probable bacteria identified were all cocci, bacilli, and spirilla. Besides, sample ec5 and ec 6 seems to have high levels of cross contamination. These tests have been explored in the next section. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background By definition, Cross contamination is the transfer or physical movement of bacteria that are harmful from one place, person or object to another. It is a major factor which contributes to food poisoning, and it consists of 4 common sources that include people, work surfaces, food and equipment. Harm ful bacteria live in or can be on our bodies, particularly around or on hands and faces as well as on clothing (McKillip, 2011). Due to the fact that they exist in small numbers they never cause a disease. If it happens that, there is a transfer of these bacteria from the clothes or bodies to food, and then given a chance to multiply, it can lead to food becoming unsafe to be eaten. Bacteria have the ability to multiply and live in any crevices and cracks in equipment including the chopping boards surface cuts. After using the equipment, food bits with bacteria can remain. If there is no proper cleaning of the equipment, there will be transfer of bacteria to another food when it is used next. Surfaces including bench tops might have bacteria on them as a result of contact with people, also dirty equipment, raw foods or other things like cartons stored on the floor can contribute. If there is no proper cleaning of bench tops, there might be bacterial contamination of any food that is placed on them. The main objective of the study was to ascertain the level of cross-contamination during cleaning in an office environment 1.2 Main Concepts and Theory Cross contamination is a major factor which contributes to food poisoning. The contaminants (Bacteria) can be transferred from the clothes or bodies to food, and then when given a chance to multiply, it can lead to food becoming unsafe to be eaten. Bacteria have the ability to multiply and live in any crevices and cracks in equipment including the chopping boards surface cuts. Most of these contaminants are harmful to humans and can cause diseases when they enter the body. 1.3 Objective of Research To determine the level of cross-contamination during cleaning in the office environment 1.4 Structure of dissertation. The dissertation is divided into 6 sections; first section covers the background of the main concept explored in the study, second section explores literature review on methods and type of bacteria found i n the study, this enabled the understanding of the available methods that have been ever done successfully then borrowed the idea to the current study. It also allowed the understanding of the characteristics of various bacteria applicable to the study so that the information got can assist in the classifying and identifying the bacteria found

Critical Response to Article by Karl Hostetler Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Response to by Karl Hostetler - Article Example This preamble marks the paper out as something a little different from the usual mainstream literature, and the impression of novelty is further enhanced by statements to the effect that researchers need to be playful and irreverent about serious subjects, and need to offend some people and annoy others. Hofstetler certainly practices what he preaches, since the article is full of provocative statements that could be taken as undermining the most fundamental values of academic research activity in most contemporary universities. The key problem that Hostetler identifies is a tendency for education researchers to focus on how their work is done, rather than undertaking a deep analysis of what they are doing and why they are doing it. Analogies such as debating which way to investigate the effectiveness of thumbscrews (Hostetler, 2005, 16-17) or herding lemmings toward the cliff (Hostetler, 2005, 17) or even sticking students with cattle prods (Hostetler, 2005, 19) are somewhat ludicro us, but the point important: too many researchers do not reflect enough about the fundamental aim of education and how far their work helps of hinders people who might be affected at some later date by the outcomes of this research. This line of argument flies in the face of standard notions of research which involve concepts such as objectivity and scientific rigor. Without the use of statistics and analytical methods, there would be very little beyond anecdotal evidence to inform policy making and practice. Hofstetler makes a valid point, but he overstates it with his deliberately â€Å"naughty† (Hofstetler, 2005, p. 17) examples, and he risks not being taken seriously by the vast majority of interested readers who are quite capable of combining scientific methods with careful ethical reflection, and see no necessary conflict between the two. A second problem that Hostetler describes is that of definitions, for example the very different ways that the conception of â€Å"c haracter† in school programs is constituted. Clearly there are quite fundamental variations in the ideologies that can underpin such notions, and Hostetler argues that this complexity is something that needs to be more fully taken into account by researchers. On this point the article is convincing, and certainly there is a case for more clarity in the way that abstract educational terminology is used, especially in government slogans and initiative titles. Hofstetler speaks up for the particular student experiences that are hidden within the data of randomized trial procedures, for example, suggesting that some of the generalizing theories that researchers produce may contain within them actual harm to individual students, since minority results tend to be lost in the bigger picture. Hofstetler questions whether the trade-off is justified, and this is a commendable observation because it highlights the dilemma of that section of the school population with behavioural or learn ing disorders who are so often lost in the drive for overall quality improvements. This article raises a number of valuable questions, and provides much material for reflection, but it is rather short on concrete answers to these questions. The conclusion which is reached is little more than a platitude expressing approval of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and other moral giants of history and calling for a more

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) Research Paper

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP) - Research Paper Example ddition ‘by proxy’ means ‘through a substitute’ denoting that it is a parent/ adult/ guardian caretaker who is inflicting symptoms in a child and not on themselves. It is a form of child abuse, and a mental disorder that warrants speedy treatment due to its deadliness. Research indicates a 6-10% mortality rate amongst MSbp victims, thus making it perhaps the most lethal form of abuse (Eminson & Postlethwaite, 2000). Munchausen by proxy differs from the Munchausen syndrome in that whereas in Munchausen by proxy, symptoms are deliberately induced in another separate individual, Munchausen syndrome on the other hand occurs when one pretends to be sick or injured on purpose. They hurt themselves, make up symptoms, push for risky operations or try to rig laboratory reports in order to gain attention. In Munchausen by proxy, the caretaker can deliberately harm the child for example by poisoning, medication, falsifying fever, withholding food, suffocation, infections, physical injury, manipulating laboratory results to indicate serious illness in order to gain attention of the medical practitioners and perpetuate a medical relationship. It is not done to achieve a concrete benefit such as financial gain. Munchausen syndromes belong to a group of conditions called factitious disorders, of which they are the most severe and chronic. Factitious disorders are either made up in another person or inflicted on self and can either be psychological or physical (Schreier & Libow, 1993). In approximately 85% of all cases of MSbp, the mother is often the culprit responsible for inflicting the illness or symptoms. However, it also possible but rare to have cases of MSbp induced by non-relatives for instance, medical professionals for a hospitalized patient, for other reasons. Most of the cases involve pre-scholars with a roughly equal number of girl and boy victims though there have been reports of Munchausen by proxy victims in children up to 16 years old. Experts believe

The Abel Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Abel Corporation - Essay Example Our strong brand name and state of the art development capabilities are committed to providing our customers with the greatest value in power tool performance that is available. Our customers have come depend on our power tools to be there when it counts. They have come to know Able Corporation as the leading innovator in the power tool business. Whether it's home repair or an industrial application, if there's a job to be done, you will find Able doing it. Management Strategy I. Corporate A. One Year 1. Concentrate marketing efforts on most profitable lines a. Expand cordless lines 2. Generate greater communication between departments 3. Seek investors for plant upgrades 4. Concentrate on innovation a. Primarily battery design and hybrid B. Five Year 1. Develop brand recognition 2. Expand retail distribution a. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes 3. Seek new technology a. Batteries and Hybrid design 4. Complete the renovation and overhaul of manufacturing facilities C. Ten Year 1. Reach global markets 2. Become the recognized leader in power tool innovation 3. Reinvest in expansion II. Operational and Business A. One Year 1. Generate greater control over metrics 2. Set departmental goals 3. Research establishing Strategic Business Units B. Five Year 1. Have all departments working with the same data 2. Reduce costs by improving efficiency 3. Have scheduling systems in place for high volume production 4, Establish SBUs to meet expansion C. Ten Year 1. Integrate global operations 2. Develop employee expertise to approach new markets III. Functional A. One Year 1. Initiate market research a. Find out who is buying our products b. Target their needs 2. Develop a plant renovation/replacement plan 3. Upgrade IT system to facilitate consistent data between departments 4. Legal department strategy for protecting new designs 5. Human Resources develop a plan to stabilize the workforce B. Five Year 1. Target our market a. Enhance branding b. Improve distribution c. Research international potential 2. Concentrate on new product development a. Improved tool design and functionality b. Battery hybrid design 3. Arrange financing for expansion 4. Legal staff to gain international expertise C. Ten Year 1. International marketing campaign 2. Human Resources provides a diverse global workforce a. International sales force Bibliography Clarke, S. (2001). Information systems strategic management : An integrated approach. London UK: Routledge. Lasserre, P. (2002). Global strategic management. Gordonsville, VA: Palgrave Macmillan. Lawrie, G. (Ed.). (2004). Strategic performance management. Bradford, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Scalet, S. (2005, July). Five steps to an effective strategic plan. CSO . Retrieved February 4, 2007, from

Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Paraphrase - Essay Example pattern presents another similar scenario where the aim is to present the items, the services according to the needs, liking and taste of the superiors. The female here in a figurative manner is guided about the requirements expected against her existence and duties to appease the officials. Further, there is a clear talk of bias and non professional like and dislike in the work place. All this is further strengthened by the claims and findings in various forms. These include the findings from the surveys undertaken in the year 2010. These reveal that gender oriented promotions and decisions were in practice. Further, declining trends are seen in terms of women coming forth from the urban parts of the society. The declining rate is nearly up to 16 percent. Peoples university of Beijing revealed that interview short listing trends are largely defined by the gender and the women have a relatively large chance in terms of appointment and getting through. While the gender inequality may be part of any society, in Chinese account the new year festival organized further specified the problem at hand and how it is prevailing in the Chinese

Assignment2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Assignment2 - Essay Example IBM New York continued with its drastic expansion into Germany with the aim of developing machines a few weeks after Adolf Hitler ascended to power. In 1933, Hitler used statisticians as his intellectual soldiers. Census departments and statistical offices were among the clients of IBM. Nazi statistical professionals laid claim to what they presumed their developing technology was going to achieve. Their entire anticipation was based on the growing creativity of IBM tabulator technology and punch cards. Only IBM could create and implement systems to quantify, sort, and identify the German people from the other populations. The 1933 census, with tabulation services and design assistance given by IBM helped the Nazi achieve their purpose. In 1935, census data that was machine-tabulated significantly increased the approximated number of Jews through the identification of people with a few or a single Jewish ancestor. Over 2000 multi-machine sets were distributed all over Germany. Moreov er, card sorting systems were developed in all camps (Black, 2001). In 1939, another census was conducted to find out the complete number of the Jewish population. The census activities were closely linked with cards and technology supplied by IBM. In addition, Nazi concentration camps had a department which kept records of inmates by the use of the punch card technology. Every concentration camp contained a code number for the purpose of keeping records. In 1943, when prisoners arrived at the concentration camps, they would be assessed physically and for political activities and their information recorded on the punch cards (Black, 2001). Richard Wiggins came up with the idea of the Speak and Spell in 1976. This idea set the landmark for digital processors, being the first one to utilize linear predictive coding to carry out speech synthesis. In 1980, the initial stand-alone, comprehensive digital processors were developed. In 1983, digital processors continued to be more successfu l. These digital processors were developed on the basis of the Harvard architecture. They contained distinct data and instruction memory. These data processors contained a unique instruction set, with commands, for example, multiply and accumulate, and load and accumulate. Almost more than five years after this invention, a more advanced set of digital processors started to spread. This processor contained three memories for recording multiple operands at the same time and contained hardware to quicken tight loops. In addition, this processor also contained an addressing component with a capacity of loop-addressing. Finally, contemporary digital processors have a tremendous performance. This can be attributed to both architectural and technological developments, for example, a wider bus system, fast-access two-level cache, and lower design rules. In my view, these items are significant because they highlight significant events that highlight changes that have led to the development of digital processors. For instance, the Nazi used the punch card technology to record information during the census and in Nazi concentration camps, and the current processors contain tremendous qualities, for example, fast-access two-level cache. Question 2 Henry Edward Roberts was an American entrepreneur, engineer, and medical doctor. In 1975, he created the initial commercially profitable personal

Reading Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading Reflection - Essay Example The unexpected bearing of a love child led to an importunate decision that eventually exposed their teenaged life trysts. The objective of the essay is to proffer a critical analysis of the discourse focusing on three literary criticism approaches: the reader-response approach, a formalist approach and the biographical, historical approach (Literary Criticism: A Brief Overview, n.d.). The literary work captured one’s interest due to the universal theme of the discourse: love with a forbidden twinge caused by racial prejudice. The civil rights movement instigated by several famous African American activists, particularly Martin Luther King, who â€Å"led and influenced millions through his espousal of non-violent protest against segregation and racial discrimination†¦ (where) their demonstrations and activism helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965† (Kelly, 2011, par. 4) proved that racial segregation was particul arly eminent. The short story revealed â€Å"the socioeconomic system that oppressed the majority black population in South Africa (1949–1994)† (Gordimer, n.d., p. 44) and became the dominant theme in this discourse. ... the onset by indicating that â€Å"the farm children play together when they are small, but once the white children go away to school they soon don’t play together any more, even in the holidays† (Gordimer, n.d., p. 44). The young love that blossomed between Paulus and Thebedi could therefore have been clearly understood as forbidden from the time he returned from boarding school. As young children, they both secretly gave mementos: a painted box made from wood-work class, a bracelet made of â€Å"thin brass and the grey-and-white beans of the castor-oil crop† (Gordimer, n.d., p. 44), and â€Å"a red plastic belt and gilt hoop ear-rings† (Gordimer, n.d., p. 45) when they were already at their teens. The author was very effective in using a clearly structured narrative discourse with the use of simple vocabulary and language. She enticed the visual and emotional appeal from readers by providing vivid and descriptive details of the incidents: â€Å"he twist ed and tugged at the roots of white stinkwood and Cape willow trees that looped out of the eroded earth around them; (and) down there hidden by the mesh of old, ant-eaten trees held in place by vigorous ones, wild asparagus bushing up between the trunks, and here and there prickly-pear cactus sunken-skinned and bristly, like an old man’s face, keeping alive sapless until the next rainy season† (Gordimer, n.d., p. 45), to name a few. The ensuing events build up to effectively concoct the climax of the story: totally unexpected and solicits diverse reaction from the readers. The sullen and covert use of words to describe the initiation to lovemaking incidents were disclosed as â€Å"had let him do with her in a locked storeroom what people did when they made love† (Gordimer, n.d., p. 45) when Paulus met a girl at a

What Race and Ethnicity Means Essay Example for Free

What Race and Ethnicity Means Essay When I hear the word â€Å"race†, the first thing that I think of is a person’s skin color, facial features and the texture of their hair. Although I am colorblind, I can’t help but to think of this when I hear the word race. This is due to the fact that the majority of the time when we fill out an application or any paperwork of importance the question of race is raised. I’m not sure why it matters, your experience and education seems more important to me. It seems as if some people still want to separate us depending on the color of our skin. Being that there’s so many races mixing, there’s no such thing as a pure race. Race seems to be unimportant to me. Ethnicity is a word that I prefer and enjoy when speaking of culture. Ethnicity makes me think of everybody’s struggle dating back from their ancestors to the present. Where did your ancestors originate? Where did you come from? Ethnicity is ones background and cultural differences. For example just because I am considered black doesn’t mean that I am from Africa; which means that I will be considered an African American. I thought for years that I was an African American till an African man that I was friends with broke it down to me and gave me some knowledge to read. He is considered an African American because he’s from Africa and now resides in America. I am considered to be a black American because I’m from America. This is weird being that my ancestors were American Indians. Your ethnicity is the group that others place you. I do have my personal opinion on all of this and why America still tries to identify us by race. Since my opinion was asked I felt the need to tell the truth on how I feel. Race and ethnicity are important in America because some people in the government still strives for division and don’t want us to come together as one. It seems as if the government gets more powerful when we separate ourselves from each other. If we all were to come together I feel as if they would consider us as a threat.

History Of The Nike As A Company

History Of The Nike As A Company Founded as an importer of Japanese shoes, NIKE, Inc. (Nike) has grown to be the worlds largest marketer of athletic footwear and apparel. In the United States, Nike products are sold through about 20,000 retail accounts; worldwide, the companys products are sold in about 110 countries. Both domestically and overseas Nike operates retail stores, including Nike Towns and factory outlets. Nearly all of the items are manufactured by independent contractors, primarily located overseas, with Nike involved in the design, development, and marketing. In addition to its wide range of core athletic shoes and apparel, the company also sells Nike and Bauer brand athletic equipment, Cole Haan brand dress and casual footwear, and the Sports Specialties line of headwear featuring licensing team logos. The company has relied on consistent innovation in the design of its products and heavy promotion to fuel its growth in both U.S. and foreign markets. The ubiquitous presence of the Nike brand and its Swoosh trademark led to a backlash against the company by the late 20th century, particularly in relation to allegations of low wages and poor working conditions at the companys Asian contract manufacturers. General Usage of PEST PEST is part of business environment, which consider by external environment. Political environment is the starting point, many other sources of macro-environmental forces. The result of political decision-making can often be seen as the governments economic policies and legislation. It is important to know is that the political and legislative environment related to the marketing of great significance, and may have a marketing strategy on the development are directly related. (Geoff Lancaster, 1993) Closely related to, and intertwined with, the political / legal environment is the economic environment. The marketing strategist must understand the variety of economic variables that will shape marketing plans. Factors such as rates of inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, industrial output, levels of disposable income and the balance of payments are just some of the factors of potentially major concern to marketing management because they, in turn, influence costs, prices and demand. Once again, not just domestic but international economic developments and trends must increasingly be considered. Consequently, marketing strategy needs to take account of the à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“ebb and flowà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ of economic factors in a global setting. (Geoff Lester, 1993) Changes and trends in the sociocultural environment present significant challenges to the strategic marketing planner. Peopleà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s basic beliefs, attitudes and values are shaped and conditioned by the society in which they grow up. Their general behaviour, including of course their purchasing behaviour, is profoundly influenced by societal and cultural norms. Core cultural and social values are firmly established within a society and are generally difficult to change. If and when they do change, they do so only slowly. In the short term, therefore, they should be treated as parameters within which marketing strategies need to be formulated. However, over a period of say 20 to 30 years, we can expect some social and cultural values to have changed dramatically. (Geoff Lester, 1993) Technology is a major environmental influence upon marketing strategy. This influence is manifested in a variety of ways. For example, developments and breakthroughs in technology are the basis for new products and sometimes new industries. Home computers, compact disc players, video recorders and instant cameras are just a few of the product which have emerged in recent years. Biotechnology, information technology and energy conservation are just a few of the new industries. (Geoff Lester, 1993) Benefit of PEST PEST use is very important. A company needed it to operate in a country.In a country where political instability makes the future of a company changes.The time when the political stability, a natural and smooth operation of the company, by a government tax will be relatively low. nike company has stores in the world, so different in every country has the political will of nike companys works. nike company is a foreign company must be delivered to import taxes, but if the political stability, the company naturally pay low taxes. Each country has different rules, for example, is still in Muslim countries can not have exposed any advertising, so the nike company must in each country in different ways to do publicity.When the countrys economic good times, can also help greatly improve the companys sales.But when the recession will certainly affect all of the companies and people. Nike economy will affect the company.When a countrys economic good time, companies can purchase a lot better than the economy can also help the company publicity. Nike items sold by the company are about to peoples needs, such as clothes, shoes and more. So a good national economy will affect the companys operations, such as a country needs more clothes, then the company will be shipping for the national needs. But if the recession when the nike company lowered the price so people will continue shopping to maintain the economy. Community is one of them will affect a companys future. When a company started, is that the people most in need of support. In an upper class society, people will spend money on things they need the body. But in a nasty society, people need only basic needs. Sell nike shoes company is based, in a society where everyone needs to wear shoes so the community will also affect the companys business. Different ages have different needs such as athletes need shoes so the company will make different models for the athletes shoes. If more young people to that country, the company will launch a variety of different comparison slippers or shoes and so on. Upper-class society needs are different, they need is more noble, so the company will look better shoes. In a traditional society, is not to be exposed toes, so the company will have different nike shoes available. When the nike companys needs to the needs of society will naturally open up. Technology on are important to every company, this wi ll affect the companys future direction. nike companys technology has always been unchallenged for all aspects of the shoe is its own unique design. nike shoes for each of the company have put a lot of human and material resources to enable people to wear more comfortable. Former shoe factory are artificial, and now the nike company not only uses the machine also uses computer technology to produce more product information better and better products out. nike shoe companies each have mentioned the spelling of the highest, so that people wear comfortable, so people are very reliable company works. PEST on the nike company has some influence. So good a company need to control these environmental factors. With these factors, nike company makes business better. For example, if the economy is good, political stability, higher living standards, technological progress, which will make the company a lot of room for improvement. 2) Organizational structure Organizational structure in each company will have not the same. It is used to solve a companys management, every stage has a different job, different departments have different methods of management. This is the reason for the organizational structure. Not the same as in the organizational structure of the organization of methods, such as a: tall organizational structures, Flat organisational structures, Functional structures, Product structures, Division sturctures, Customer structures and so on. These are used in the operation of companies of different sizes. Now I introduce the Tall organizational structures, the organization belongs to multi-layer structure, for example, a stage that only two to three of the men, while men have only every two to three subordinates. Many companies will use this structure, because the management is easy, less friction between colleagues, every department to do their own business. Although this is a tall structure, important decisions are often the highest authorities to the report, be carried out must also be approved. So this is what one of the disadvantages often are elongated because of the time to wait for high-level decisions, which will have missed the best time. Also, if you need some high -level consultation, the need to address the underlying lack of communication was found between them. Tall organizational structure When a technology developed at the competitive big tall organizational structure of society can no longer be used in a big company, so many companies have changed into flat organizational structure. The reason is simple, this structure is to multi-layer system . In this organization, a department can have at least seven subordinates, so this will make the efficiency faster and work faster. Because more people to manage, so the head of each layer must have enough experience, and it does not require any management decision should be the highest level to decide. When a large company need to expand the market, this structure can be easily controlled by hand. For example, in a branch where only one in charge to control. This company wants to know the natural turnover of each will be more convenient. In each charge under the leadership of the response can be directly subordinate level can also be spread to shorten the time, the efficiency faster. flat organizational structures can be deleg ate power to local manager. In a busy society, people need something faster and more convenient, so the separation of powers on by the competent body that will be more easy to get the customers heart. To make a decision quickly, the efficiency to better the people demand for higher. Conclusion Therefore, the rapid progress in this society that every company must accelerate the pace can not be left behind. tall organizational structure has already been replaced by flat organizational structure in large companies, only a small company can use. In many of the environmental factors in different markets require a different management structure. Organizational structure of is to allow a company to s operations more convenient.

Strategic Human Resource Management In Barclays Commerce Essay

Strategic Human Resource Management In Barclays Commerce Essay Barclays Pakistan. With a network of more than 155,000 people working globally across a range of businesses, we consider Barclays one of the best organizations for case study in order to explain the strategic human resource management; Barclays Bank Pakistan commenced operations in July 2008. With such a diversified network of the organization the HR experts work with every single employee and Business Unit to help the Barclays stay ahead from other organizations in the competition and by attracting and retaining the best people available, all over the world. This is not done by recruiting new employees but also committed to nurturing its established colleagues. The HR teams play a vital role in monitoring performance and managing a host of training programs. More importantly in the last one decade, the Banking Sector in Pakistan has become highly dynamic and competitive because of more international banks and local banks are offering the same products and services to the customers. To motive the employees the Barclays bank also introduced a pension scheme which also falls within the Human Resources Teams remit. This team makes sure the full support to all 155,000 employees across the world. Retirement Fund and the Pension Fund Executive works with the funds Trustees to ensure the scheme operates to the highest standard. Human Resource Planning (HRP) Human resource planning is needed to have a sense of both the current external environment, and anticipate things that may happen in the future in the labor market place. Human resource strategies to be implemented must be translated to the employees clearly so that they can well understand the strategies and you can get best out of it. At Barclays human resources are considered as a capital of the bank the course of action of planning process translated to the Human Capital for the achievement of predetermined goals. This is the organizations most valued assets the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. If the strategies are not properly communicated to the employees it becomes a barrier in the increase of loyalty factor of the employees with the organization. The company also needs to categorize the HR planning in to short, medium and long term. HRP The Process The most important thing for HR management is to understand the needs, demand and nature of business requirement, in this way he will be able to employ those who will deliver the required performance. The manager have to take keen interest for spotting the talent, this is called right man for the right job and ensures that the workforce is competent enough the meet the targets. Future workload must be calculated before hiring new employees, and from this way you HR can design an accurate job profile and job expectations. At Barclays well experienced HR manager are hired and motivate his prospective employees to perform to their potential. Steps involved in the Human Resource Planning Process are as under: Designing the Management System The first step in human resource planning process is to develop an efficient system for managing human resource in the organization to ensure the linkage of individuals targets and objectives with the organizational strategies. The plans, procedures, practices and policies of related to human resource come under this HR management system. An ERP system should be in place to manage all the record and data related to each and every employee of the organization. This will help to analyze the performance of each individual and also to analyze the performance of a whole workgroup. The managers can evaluate the current performance by comparing it with the previous trends which would be easily accessible form the ERP system. The policies and procedures should be put together in the system so that certain HR function may be automated and data can be updated automatically. An example of such system can be an automated attendance system for employees. An employ ee marks his or her attendance on his arrival in the office and marks his/her departure time. This is a small example that can automate one of the human resource practices in the organization. Implementation of such automated system should be the part of human resource planning in order to avoid the wastage of time due to manual work. In this way the resources can be utilized any other productive activity. Environmental Analysis After strengthening the internal systems the analysis of internal and external environment is done in the next phase of human resource planning. The collection of data related to the industry, technology, competition, unemployment rate, inflation rate, labor market trends and economy is required to be collected and an analysis of the past trends should be done. This analysis will become the foundation for the decision regarding the human resource management in the organization. In this competitive business environment, organization attracts the skilled labor as the key to success is the skilled workforce. Organizations should continuously analyze the human resource practices of the competitors in order to facilitate their employees with the same or even higher to keep them loyal to the organization. As if this is not the case then the employee will leave the organization and will join the other who is offering good compensation and other facilities. Analyzing the economy trend and inflation rates will help to determine that how much organization has to raise the salaries of the employees in the future. Forecasting Human Resource Demand The future needs and types of the employees are forecasted in the next phase of human resource planning process. For instance the analysis of the industry and the labor market will help to evaluate that how well the labor market will fulfill the future needs of the organization. It is quite possible that organization may need the skilled business development officers in the coming year and the analysis indicate that this need will not be fulfilled by the labor market. In this case the planning for training the existing workforce to meet the future needs will be done. Bottom-up forecasting is very popular for analyzing such demand of human resource in the future. Analyzing Human Resource Supply Internal and external hiring are both the techniques which can be used by the organizations. Maintaining the data bank of the possible candidates is another important part of the human resource planning. This data bank of potential candidates allows the organization more leverage to select the skilled candidates from a list of experienced and skilled employees. Reconciliation and Planning All the data, information and analysis of different alternatives collected from different sources are gathered and action plan are developed in the last phase of human resource planning process. The acceptation of plan is the key issue for top management and employees and barriers to success of plan should be identified to the key players. Many of these plans include training and management development plan, appraisal plan, employee utilization plan and human resource supply plan. Human Resource Strategy HR Strategy is aligning the goals of HR to the goals or strategy of your organization, recruitment, retention and termination are a small part of it. PEOPLE designed and structured a variable compensation scheme for Barclays Bank Investment Banking Group. The new scheme was built upon an equitable and balanced approach which took into account individual performance factors as well as market movements. The idea of Human Resource strategy and its alignment with the business strategy came in to practice by most of the organization in 1960s. There are different strategies and patterns related to HR systems which are involved in the formulation of HR strategy. Preparation of Job Description Documents / Job Profiling Evaluation and bench marking Grading structure development Compensation mechanism and quantum evaluation Development of a comprehensive set of policies in the form of a HR Manual Evaluation of all organizational and operational needs of the Bank Re-structuring the business divisions of Barclays Bank according to change management agenda Compilation of a comprehensive Job Description Manual for all unique position in Barclays in light of the newly restructured organization Performance management system and related training Compensation policy design and realignment Barclays Human Resource strategy components Employee Training Barclays is very keen in employees training whether the employee is newly hired or existing one. Training is mandatory for newly hired staff and after the training they are tested if they failed in the test they are not eligible for the job. For the old employees the company conduct on-job and off-job training programs to enhance the skills and knowledge of the employees. Barclays conducts the employees training for these benefits: Improved job satisfaction and morale among employees Enhance employee motivation Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain Development of capacity to adopt new technologies and methods Increased innovation in strategies and products Reduced employee turnover Enhanced company image, Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training Learning Management System Barclays offers Learning Management System that is an online tool designed to help individuals to manage their training. Mentor programs Barclays encourages mentoring within the organization. Colleagues will be rewarded through this mentoring program. Recruitment and Selection The process of recruitment and selection at Barclays is initiated by the concerned departments and for this purpose candidates are interviewed by different persons of the concerned departments at different levels. From this process of identified that what is organization need and who is the suitable candidate to fill this post. Performance Appraisal Each employee at Barclays know his/her key performance indicators. A performance appraisal is a part of guiding and managing career development. It is the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording information about the relative worth of an employee to the organization. Job specification A job specification goes beyond a mere description in addition, it highlights the mental and physical attributes required of the job holder. Barclays clearly highlights the job specification to the hired employees. Job analysis, description, and specification can provide useful information to the job holder and he clearly knows his responsibilities. Career Development Through this way employees manage their careers within organization. The way of career development clearly indicated to the employees. Rewards and Benefits Barclays employees all over the world enjoy a range of benefits including financial bonuses, private healthcare and flexible working, which vary depending on the region in which they are based. Remuneration Barclays pays competitive salaries and bonus and benefits according to the industry benchmark. Bonus and benefits depends on the individual performance and a company pension scheme is also available. Discounts Employees in certain parts of the world benefit from YOUniquely Barclays a range of Barclays products and services offered to employees on preferential terms. Including Buy-A-Car scheme, banking products, insurance and travel services, and the scheme offers comprehensive cost savings. Health Barclays offers a health and wellbeing benefit to its employees and many of them qualify for medical expenses scheme, offering the comfort of access to private healthcare treatment. It also provides discounts at major health care clubs. Flexibility Barclays offers flexible working hours to the employees through flexible working practices. Resource Based Strategy A strategic human resource tool known as resource based strategy is used to analyze and evaluate the current position of the human resources available to the organization. Resource based strategy allows the organization to identify those resources which are able to give a competitive advantage to the organization over the other firms. After the identification of these resources the efficient utilization of them is planned through multiple strategies. Every organization possess certain resources which can give them a leading edge over the others in the market, the need is to recognize those resources. At times the organizations having so many resources which can give competitive advantage fail to succeed in the market. The major reason behind that is that organization do not identify or recognize or give importance to these resources and they use such resources inefficiently which causes the failure of those organizations. At Barclays Pakistan, this strategy is used to identify the re sources which brings a short term competitive advantage in to a long term and sustainable competitive advance which is not imitated or copied by the other organizations. Superior value is created by efficiently using the resources and a leading edge is taken over the competitors that are the reason that in 3 years Barclays has been in a very good financial position and is among the leading banks operating in Pakistan. Sustainable Competitive Advantage The major focus of the resource based strategy of Barclays Pakistan should be to attain a sustainable competitive advantage. This will allow the newly established bank in Pakistani market to gain more experience and a market leadership position in the future. At the moment there are other Pakistani local banks which are having a leading position and a huge customer as well as deposit base. For Barclays to achieve that position is not an impossible task as with an international banking experience and by identification of resources responsible for sustainable competitive advantage, the leading position in the market can be attained. Distinctive Capabilities According to the new resource based view, the changing market conditions and their responses from the organizations determine the effectiveness of sustainable competitive advantage. For Barclays Pakistan, responding to the changes in the market condition would be very necessary in order to maintain the effectiveness of sustainable completive advantage. The bank has to build the distinctive capabilities which will maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in the market. Leadership There is a difference between a leader and a manager. A leader is not only a manager, but is a role model for the others in the organization. It was said that leaders are not made rather they are born, but the studies proven this wrong as innovation and research in human resource management revealed that leaders can be built by effective human resource practices. Barclays need to build the leader from their employees as everyone has the capability of being a good leader. The bank should engage their employees in to different training and development programs which enable them to work in a competitive environment with a team spirit. Having such leadership qualities in the workforce will definitely lead them to gain a huge competitive advantage over the other banks in the country. Systemic and radical Innovation To get continuous success in the modern business world innovation is very important. The firm who do not innovate their products and services do not sustain in the market for long. This is because the customers needs and demands are changing very rapidly and to meet those demands the organizations had to offer new products. Barclays has been catering their customers in other countries very efficiently and in Pakistani market the bank needs innovation in the products and services according to the local needs and demands. The saving trend in Pakistan is not at the higher side as most of the people are hand to mouth and they spent whatever they earn, so the products and service offerings should be designed by keeping in mind this major factor of Pakistani market. Innovation should be in a systematic way, as Pakistans banking sector has seen a tremendous growth in the past one decade and now the need is to invent the essential features of the banking busi ness. Barclays Pakistan can become the pioneer of this radical innovation and gain the huge customers attention and can increase its profits. Resource and Competence-based Strategy Today, customer is considered as the king, meeting their needs and demands is the primary objectives of all the organizations. Resource based strategy leads the organization to achieve such competencies which assures the fulfillment of needs and demands of the customers. Analyzing the half SWOT, i.e. strengths and weaknesses of the organization helps to overcome the internal weaknesses and capitalizing the strengths to serve the customers in a best possible way. Identifying the valuable resources and gaining the winning competencies combination allows the organization to innovate and design such offering for the customers which meet their needs and demands. The available valuable resources are utilized by the organization in an efficient and productive manner and can be used for innovating products and services. This will enable the organization to maintain a competitive and leading position in the market. By analyzing the weaknesses an organization can gain the completive advantage by following cost leadership strategies and overcoming those weaknesses which are responsible for the wastage of the time and valuable resources of the organization. By saving the valuable resources an organization is able to utilize them in serving the customers in a better way. This makes the organization unique from the others and helps to increase the market share. Resource and competence-based approaches are particularly valuable when the boundaries of the business can be changed through, for example: Considering Make versus Buy alternatives Entering new markets around the globe Installment of new technologies Adversity is at hand. Achieving sustainable competitive advantage. You need innovation to improve your business. Best utilization of your resources in plans to achieve your objectives. Linking business and HR strategy Businesses today demand a strong relationship between the human resource and organizational strategies. The business whose personnel policies and procedures lead towards the achievement of organization strategies and objectives are successful. This relationship is the major contributor in creating the value of the organization. The policies and procedures of the human resource department of an organization should focus towards the employee training and development and introduction and innovation of career paths which corresponds to the corporate objectives of the organization. In the past the purpose of human resource department was only to manage and maintain the data of the employees in the organization, but with the passage of time the major purpose of the human resource became to develop a skilled and strong workforce that can give a competitive advantage to the organization. Skilled workforce one of those factors which cannot be imitated by the other organization and thus the co mpetitive advantage become sustainable for a longer period of time. Another major purpose of human resource department in the organization is to introduce and maintain the corporate culture in the organization. This should be done by motivating the employees and developing programs which encourages the employees to develop their skills and apply them on the job which can be beneficial for the organization. Organizational Design/Structure of Barclays Pakistan Organizational structure shows the Hierarchy of organization management system along with flow of duties and responsibilities. Organization structures are different in different organizations it depends on number of factors like organization size, geographical locations, organization type, nature of product etc. A hierarchy exemplifies an arrangement with a leader who leads leaders. This arrangement is often associated with bureaucracy. Hierarchies were satirized in The Peter Principle (1969), a book that introduced hierarchy and the saying that in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. At Barclays organization structure is divided into different work groups and work units based on their skills, expertise, resources, and knowledge, as shown in the figure each department has individual head that is called HOD (head of department). All HODs are reported to the Country Head, and each manager is reported to the Head of his/her department. Description of Worker groups at Barclays Pakistan Every worker group/division of Barclays has separate role and functions, which are stated as under: Head Finance Head Finance is responsible for bringing important financial controls to a company and all the financial activities in the organization. These controls includes management of all the cash flows, expenses, establishing credit policies for customers and also responsible for conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis in order to arrive at an understanding of the options that are available. Head Risk The core responsibilities include managing a team of credit specialists covering performance management, Set up and then manage robust monitoring control systems procedures, Ensure that Risk Control Credit procedures, training developing. Shaping the team and improving processes. Acting as an escalation point for complex credit cases as well as dealing with internal and external clients. Head Corporate Banking This segment involves in sales to the corporate segment of the particular region, making credit line, credit proposals and making sure of effective utilization of bank credit line. Corporate sales and planning is an integral function of this business division. Head of Internal Audit Barclays audit department is an independent authority and helps the organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. It is designed in way to add value and improve operational and governance process. Head Investment Banking At Barclays Investment Banking Unit is developed for the investment actives of the bank. Head Human Resource Barclays this division is responsible to manage the human resource and is responsible for all the HR functions which are mentioned earlier. Head Marketing This segment is responsible for marketing campaigns for all the new and existing product and services of the organization. Getting feedback from consumers and making the new strategies to achieve the required targets. Business planning that involves the future market forecasting market segmentation is also a function of this department. Head Liability Sales This is the core unit of Barclays and responsible for bring in the new customers and finally deposits for the bank. They get the deposits in different kinds like current account, saving account and term deposits. Head Retail Commercial Banking Commercial banking is also known as business banking. Bank provides current account, saving account and accept time deposits. Commercial Banking is different from investment banking and retail banking, bank accept deposit from individual customers and corporations and gives loans to large businesses.

Whoops Essay -- Analysis, John Lanchester

The book â€Å"Whoops! Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay† by John Lanchester, will be analyzed in this essay in order to look at the wider geopolitical banking strategy, the roles and development of international institutions and strategies that have lead to the current economic crisis. At the beginning of the book, the author identifies two key events which created the environment for such a crisis to occur: the Cold war and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. These two events are pointed out because as he sees it, the cold war provided the capitalist nations with an opposite system to compare to, and its advantages in terms of social justice and peoples rights were incomparable. However after the fall of the Berlin Wall, â€Å"capitalism began a victory party that lasted twenty years† (J.Lanchester, p15), and as at its core capitalism is not an equal distributor of wealth, in addition to many countries after the fall abandoning their focus on social justice and focusing on growth, which was not sustainable. Here the author starts to lead the reader to considering how the strategies of society as a whole and key agent of the financial industry were formation of the environment in which they were. A proportion of the blame must lie with certain agents of the industry and their lack of actions. Deregulation had gone too far and governments were too slow or unwilling to act on time. An example given is when five major banks (Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, and Morgan Stanley) in 2004 were allowed to cut the amount of capital they had to hold as a reserve against potential loses. (J.Lanchester, p.163). The author points out how successful lobbying had become and that those banks at one point wer... ...100). These three banks had to all be bailed out. This situation incorporates the key four elements of the author’s argument, and is one of many. The book’s prevailing theme is how the strategy adopted by various agents of the financial industry has trickled down to the society. The author upon mentioning the creation of securitization, several times notes that this is what â€Å"broke banking†. This change in strategy of banks and the society as a whole led to many changes. The lender and the borrower being separated and the loan sold-off is a key flaw and arguably, speaking in general terms can be largely attributed to the systematic errors existence which played a large role in the most recent crisis. Throughout the book there is a feeling that the author sees the system as not being beneficial to the end consumer when fundamentally this should be the opposite.

A Common Thread Essay -- essays research papers fc

A Common Thread   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We as a society are surrounded by life, as we know it each day. Never stopping to look around and absorb what is going on around us. Our surroundings pass us by and we never take a glimpse at what those surroundings may hold. Our society presses forward without looking over their shoulder to see where we have been. Without acknowledging our present culture and studying our culture in the past, where are we going?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Studying Clifford Geertz, Patricia Limerick, John Wideman, and Ralph Waldo Emerson has made it easier for me to answer my own question. These four authors of varying expertise tied together a common thread called culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clifford Geertz in his essay â€Å"Deep Play† brought us the world of cockfighting in Bali. In this essay he portrays the culture of our present American society through the use of the Balinese cockfight. Amazingly enough Geertz used what some would call a primitive culture to show us the aspects of our culture and the role these aspects play in our culture. Social structure, family, tradition, and money are just a few of the aspects brought out by Geertz that govern our present society. Geertz sums up our culture when he states,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Their life, as they arrange it and perceive it, is less a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  flow, a directional movement out of the past, through   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the present, toward the future than an on-off pulsation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  of meaning and vacuity, an arrhythmic alternation of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  short periods when â€Å"something† (that is, something   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  significant) is happening and equally short ones where   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"nothing† (that is, nothing much) is- between what they   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  themselves call â€Å"full† and â€Å"empty† times, or, in another   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  idiom, â€Å"junctures† and â€Å"holes† (387).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patricia Limerick in her essay â€Å"Empire of Innocence† exposed many ot... ... the effectiveness list would be John Wideman’s â€Å"Our Time.† Wideman continues building on all the other author’s information by showing us how the rules that have been established for culture apply to family, race, and the pursuit of happiness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Considering the facts that the essays discussed here were written at different times and encompass various subjects, we have torn them into pieces and used the pieces to complete one puzzle. Upon completion of the puzzle, we now have a picture of culture. Furthermore, the essays have given us a common thread that we can now use to tie our puzzle pieces together. This common thread is our culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Emerson, Ralph Waldo. â€Å"The American Scholar.† Rpt. in Ways of Reading.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5th Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Boston: Bedford/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  St. Martin’s, 1999. 304. Geertz, Clifford. â€Å"Deep Play.† Rpt. in Ways of Reading. 5th Ed. David   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1999. 387.

Reasons for the Defeat of Napoleon in Russia in the Campaign of 1812

This essay will examine the factors that led to Napoleon and his enormous army retreating from Russia and eventually losing a great majority of soldiers as well as their notoriety of being â€Å"invincible† after invading Russia in 1812. It will also consider the effects that that particular war had on the downfall of Napoleon’s empire in the subsequent years. The Campaign of 1812 was to be Napoleon’s crowning achievement. His Grand Armee of over 600,000 men from all corners of his empire was the largest he had ever assembled. The Emperor of France was notorious to his enemies. His armies were said to be invincible and his tactics in battle were second to none. This was at least how he was perceived at the time. On the 23rd of June, 1812 he invaded Russia with the hopes of ultimately dominating Europe. Napoleon did not anticipate, however, the harsh Russian weather that they had to face coupled with the scorched-earth policy that the Russians employed. He also overlooked the resolve of Tsar Alexander in that the Russian Tsar would not surrender to Napoleon under any circumstances. Napoleon was also fighting a losing battle within himself. His age was beginning to get the better of him and his unwavering confidence in himself blinded him from making correct decisions. The campaign of 1812 was a disaster for Napoleon. Worse than the loss of over 500,000 men in Russia was the realization of France’s enemies that Napoleon was no longer the ‘Invincible’ conqueror that he was. Napoleon’s Russian campaign failed due to the culmination of these various factors, but above all, it was Napoleons faulty judgment and unwavering confidence in himself that led to his demise. Furthermore, this great defeat exposed Napoleon’s weakness to his enemies and as a result his reign as emperor came to an end. The weather was a worthy opponent to Napoleon and his Grand Armee during his campaign in Russia. However, casualties could have been prevented if Napoleon prepared properly for this grand campaign. Russia experiences extremely cold winters that arrive rapidly. It also gets very hot in the summer months. At the start of Napoleon’s campaign his army experienced very hot weather. As the campaign entered July the heat became unbearable. Napoleon and many of his men were struck with diseases. [1] Napoleon was losing soldiers to exhaustion, sickness and desertion at a rate of 5,000 per day. It is reported that after two months, without even fighting a battle Napoleon had lost 150,000 soldiers. [2] General Clausewitz wrote, â€Å"The bad water and the air-borne insects caused dysentery, typhus, and diarrhea. â€Å"[3] However, if Napoleon had planned to bring more doctors and medicine with him then many thousands of lives would have been saved. I believe this is Napoleon’s first in a series of mistakes that stems from faulty planning. Napoleon’s army suffered even worse during their retreat from Moscow. The soldiers were shattered by the bitter cold of the harsh Russian winter. Again, Napoleon had not planned properly for this. In fact, he had not even planned that he would be in Russia during the winter, another fatal mistake. Napoleon proclaimed before the campaign began that he expected it to last 20 days. [4] And according to another source he prepared 40 days worth of food for his army. [5] Either way this gross miscalculation by Napoleon in the preparation stages of his campaign. It is evident that Napoleon did not thoroughly plan for the Russian campaign, nor did he make the correct calculations that would ensure a decisive victory. I think that this is due to his slowly deteriorating heath as well as Napoleon’s overconfidence and irrational belief that he could not be defeated. It seemed as though Napoleon failed to display his true genius in 1812 that had won him countless battles in the past. He displayed much caution, which was uncharacteristic of his once vigorous and dominating demeanour. It is still unclear whether this was due to his illness at the start of the campaign or a more deeply-seated issue in Napoleon’s age and irrational beliefs. This is what Napoleon said on the subject of his own health: â€Å"Health is indispensable in war†; and, a few years later :†There is but one season for war; I shall be fit for it six years longer, and then I shall myself be obliged to stop. † He had passed the limit set by himself when the highest efficiency could be expected. [6] â€Å"Napoleon was 42 years of age in 1812 and clearly his best years as a youthful and energetic leader were behind him. As he entered into this midlife crisis he became more restless and he wanted to fully control Europe before he grew too old to do so. Napoleon also maintained this sense of destiny, he found it incredible that others even tried to oppose his strength. â€Å"Russia is now being led to her fate, let her destiny be fulfilled! â€Å"[7] This quote is evidence to the claim that Napoleon allowed his ego to get the better of his judgement. In Napoleon’s mind, it was god’s will for him to crush Russia and seize control of Europe. It was impossible for him to lose this campaign against Russia, especially with the greatest army the world had ever seen at his disposal. With such a tremendous force Napoleon overlooked the finer details of the campaign that were essential to assuring its success. Another factor that greatly contributed to the failure of Napoleon’s 1812 campaign was the tactics that the Russians employed to deter his Grand Armee. The Russians would retreat deeper inland as soon as they saw the Grand Armee approaching, which worked to exhaust their enemy. The Russians had no choice but to retreat when they saw Napoleon’s massive approaching army. As a result of this, the Grand Armee suffered. [8] It is unclear whether the Russians retreated as they were aware that facing the enormous invading force was suicidal or they did it on purpose in order to intentionally tire out the enemy. Either way, the retreat worked wonders against Napoleon’s Army. A French General said this: â€Å"We (the French cavalry) deploy, and boldly advance to the attack, and already reach their line; but they disappear like a dream and we see only the bare pines and birch trees. An hour later, when we have begun to feed our horses, the dark line of Cossacks again appears on the horizon, and we are again threatened with an onslaught. We repeat the same manoeuvre, and, as before, our operations are not attended with success. Thus one of the best and bravest cavalry forces the world has ever seen was tired out and disorganised by those whom it considered unworthy foes, but who were the real saviours of their country. â€Å"[9] As the Russians retreated, they gained in strength, and exhausted the resources of country on the path that was to be trailed by the invaders. This has come to be known as the ‘scorched earth policy. ’ This strategy was designed to deplete the enemy’s resources so that they may only survive on the provisions that they brought along with them. The Russians burned their own countryside as they fell back. Napoleon did not anticipate the use of this tactic. It was greatly effective in depleting the numbers of the Grand Armee by starving the enemy. The Russians were determined to defend their country from almost certain defeat. They fought knowing that their entire country was relying on them to keep it from falling into Napoleon’s hands. This incentive and confidence in battle that the Russians had was also not anticipated by the French Emperor. He expected the Russians to roll over and be crushed as he had done in previous campaigns. Also to his horror he found that the discipline in his own ranks was slowly fading†¦ As previously stated, Napoleon had amassed his army from all corners of his empire. Among the French there were Germans, Italians, Poles, Spaniards, Portuguese, Swiss and Croatians. Even though the numbers of this army were staggering, their cohesion as a unit was compromised due to the simple fact that they were all from different countries. This mixture of languages and cultures, although very large and well organized, made efficiency and discipline an issue for Napoleon. Also, only the French troops were the ones who were well equipped and well trained, they were inspired to fight under their beloved Emperor. The same cannot be said of the rest of the troops. [10] The foreigners were fighting because they had no choice, they were allies to Napoleon but they shared no special bond with him, nor were they particularly motivated to be fighting in his name and in the name of France. This was another key factor that played a large role in the dismantling of the army during Napoleon’s retreat form Moscow. Napoleon also failed to realize that the Tsar Alexander would not surrender as easily as he thought. Napoleon thought that after a handful of decisive victories the Tsar would agree peace terms and Napoleon would have his way. He also mistakenly thought that if he were to occupy the Russian capital of Moscow then the country would be at his mercy. â€Å"A Single blow delivered at the heart of the Russian Empire, at Moscow the holy, will instantly put this whole blind, apathetic mass at my mercy. [11] Napoleon, despite having extensive relations with Tsar Alexander had underestimated his character. The Tsar’s resolve was strong and unwavering in his decision to not accept terms of peace with Napoleon. He did not even respond to Napoleon, even though the French Emperor now occupied the capital city. [12] It is important to note that as the Grand Arme e entered into Moscow it was in flames, set ablaze by the Russians themselves in accordance with their scorched earth policy. This denied Napoleon’s men the provisions and plunder that they so desired and had been promised. The occupants had fled to the countryside and the city was left deserted and up in flames. Napoleon had again been bested by the Russians. His army was now 1/5th of what it was. Two of my sources hold very different views when it comes to the morale of Napoleon’s men at this time. One maintains that the officers maintained their confidence in Napoleon while the troops, although not happy with the fact that they had no provisions â€Å"retained their thoughtlessness† and were still content under the Emperor’s guidance. [13] The other source depicts more of a sense of disillusionment within the ranks. The fires by which the place was devastated reacted on the discipline of the troops. The men abandoned themselves to disorder, and marauding did not cease until the Emperor took stringent measures to restore discipline. †[14] Napoleon was left with a dilemma to ponder. He could either continue the campaign and make a final push to defeat the weakened enemy with the disgruntled and famished troops that he had left or he could quickly retreat and leave Russia knowing that he had been outmanoeuvred by his enemy. Napoleon took a third option. He waited for word from Tsar Alexander. He was optimistic that the Tsar would sign a peace agreement. Napoleon was unaware of the fact that Alexander could not possibly surrender, it was his duty as Tsar to never accept terms. This led to Napoleon hesitating in Moscow for five weeks. With no word from Alexander and winter fast approaching. A decision needed to be made quickly. Napoleon gave the order to retreat and they marched out of Moscow on the 19th of October. [15] This hesitation from Napoleon would soon come back to bite them. Napoleon lingered in Moscow for far too long. His stay should not have exceeded two weeks and he should have retreated in September. By hesitating so long he brought about the horrors that would face him and what was left of his army in the following weeks. Three weeks after Napoleon and his army exited Moscow the winter emerged. As they marched westward the cold gradually increased until it became almost unbearable. As the temperature dropped to -20 degrees the retreating soldiers began dropping like flies from starvation, disease and the bitter cold. Discipline declined. The famished soldiers no longer did what they were told. They had no honour left to do battle, instead the main goal of every soldier was to stay alive. Men fought over food supplies and clothes. Some abandoned the unit in search of provisions elsewhere. The army was no longer a fighting force. [16] This, however was not the retreating army’s only problem. The Cossacks attacked the army from all flanks, they were vicious and relentless to Napoleon’s army, and they showed no mercy to anyone who fell behind the main unit. 17] Napoleon’s army was slowly fading away, little by little each day. Napoleon even wore a vial of poison around his neck in the event of him being captured. Less than 90,000 soldiers escaped Russia even after Napoleon had abandoned what was left of his army when he heard of a coup developing in Paris. The campaign in Russian was colossal failure. With what looked like a sure victory for Napoleon at the start of the campaign ended in shambles. Napoleon was outwitted and undone by the tactics of the Russians. Something Napoleon did not consider possible. Napoleon’s failure to understand that the Russians would fight with such desperation to defend their motherland was a costly mistake. Napoleon greatly underestimated his enemy, as well as the amount of necessary provisions to feed such a massive force as the Grand Armee. Everything seemed to conspire against Napoleon in the Russian campaign and in some respects he was hopelessly unlucky. His belief in himself and his army was so great, his ‘star’ so bright that he became blinded. He failed to think through the battle plan thoroughly enough and the result was a great failure. This failure did not go unnoticed by the rest of Europe. After it became obvious that Napoleon had lost with such a large army at his disposal Britain, Russia, Prussia and Sweden decided to strike Napoleon when he appeared weakest. His reputation as an invincible conqueror took a massive hit. The rest of Europe realized that it was possible to defeat Napoleon. Napoloen was able to rally another army to defend his empire from the forces that were now conspiring against him but it was too late, the initial damage had been done through the Russian campaign and Napoleon’s empire would never again ascend to what it once was prior to the campaign of 1812.

Death of a Nation Essay

Clifford Dowdey’s Death of a Nation: The Story of Lee and His Men at Gettysburg is a military history examining the Confederate loss at this epic battle, particularly the decision-making process and the Southern commanders’ failure to perform up to their potential. Partly a fawning defense of Robert E. Lee and partly an insightful study of why the South even dared invade the North, it demonstrates the author’s Southern bias without trying to justify slavery, as well as Dowdey’s fusion of history and storytelling. The book looks almost exclusively at the Civil War’s largest battle, in which Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia invaded the North in hopes of scaring Lincoln into halting the war and recognizing the Confederacy. Instead, as Dowdey’s title implies, it proved the Confederacy’s apex as a military power, beginning its two-year decline and ultimate collapse. Dowdey, a native of Richmond, Virginia, who produced numerous histories and novels about the Civil War, takes a decided pro-Southern stance and offers a rather generous view both of the Confederacy, never approaching its defense of slavery, and of Lee, the inventive, chance-taking commander who proved the South’s greatest leader. The first chapter, â€Å"Rendezvous with Disaster,† conveys in its title how Dowdey sees the battle, yet he is loath to blame Lee for the loss. He opens with an account of Confederate troops invading Pennsylvania, depicting them not as a menacing enemy but as a somewhat merry band: â€Å"[The] Confederate soldiers had not committed acts of vandalism or abused the inhabitants. On the contrary, the troops had been highly good-humored in the face of taunts and insults† (3). The author then introduces the general as a striking, almost godlike figure, quoting an officer who deemed him â€Å"a kingly man whom all men who came into his presence expected to obey† (5); this description recurs throughout the book. Subsequent chapters describe the buildup and the battle itself. In chapter two, â€Å"The Opening Phase,† Dowdey portrays the decision-making process that led to Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania as a Jefferson Davis-engineered travesty, â€Å"a necessary expedient in the policy of static, scattered defensiveness† (27). The author considers Lee almost a victim of Davis’ vanity, rigidity, and inability to admit his own lack of military expertise, and he absolves the man he believes â€Å"embodied the image of the patriarchal planter who, as military leader, assumed benevolent responsibility for his domain† (33). Throughout the battle, which dominates much of the book, Dowdey introduces Lee’s subordinates as characters in a novel or drama, describing their personalities in lively, even somewhat chatty detail. Jeb Stuart, whose cavalry failed in its reconnaissance duties before the fighting began, appears as a capable soldier who refused to believe he erred; Richard Ewell is a crusty but soft-hearted eccentric whose marriage softened his fighting skills; and John B. Hood is â€Å"a fighter, not a thinker† (174). He reserves his harshest criticisms for James Longstreet, deeming the lone general to openly question Lee’s decision to wage the unwise assault best known as Pickett’s Charge, a lying defeatist. Dowdey claims that â€Å"objective historians and Longstreet partisans have tried to re-evaluate him outside the text of controversy. This is almost impossible. . . . Many other men performed below their potential at Gettysburg, but only James Longstreet absolved himself by blaming Lee† (340). By the end of the book, one realizes that Dowdey will not concede that the figure he admires may have simply made fatal errors at Gettysburg. Dowdey’s descriptions of the battle cover the three days in a generally accurate but not original manner. He alternates between broad, sweeping pictures of dramatic combat and close-up accounts of individual Confederate units and soldiers. (He gives little mention to Union action throughout the book, making clear that his sole interest is depicting Lee’s army and not providing a holistic history of the battle. ) Though his approach provides reliable but not groundbreaking information, Dowdey makes clear that he considers Lee’s defeat not the venerable commander’s fault (despite his own tendency to take long chances against the larger and better-armed Union Army), but rather his subordinates’ inability to perform as competently as they had in previous battles. In this account, Stuart’s ego kept him from realizing he failed in his scouting duties, A. P. Hill lost his usually strong will, Richard Anderson staged a poor excuse for an assault on Cemetery Ridge with undisciplined, poorly-led Carolinian troops (rather than the Virginians that Dowdey, the Virginian, favors), and Ewell did not adequately prepare his troops for their attack. While Dowdey concedes that Lee, â€Å"alone in the center of the vacuum, could not have been less aware of the total collapse of co-ordination† (240). However, he implies, Lee’s unawareness was not his fault, but that of usually-reliable subordinates who curiously failed all at once. The work ends somewhat abruptly, with Lee’s broken army withdrawing from Pennsylvania after Pickett’s failed charge (in which the general whose name it bears appears as a minor figure) and returning to Virginia; the author offers no broad conclusion or explanation of the battle’s meaning within a larger context. Dowdey, primarily a fiction writer and college instructor who also produced numerous histories of the Army of Northern Virginia, approaches the work with a storyteller’s vigor and flair, writing this history with a novelist’s attention to visual details and his characters’ personalities and quirks. Frequently, he aims to stir the reader’s attention by adding what his characters may have said or thought in rich, occasionally overstated terms. For example, he deems Ewell â€Å"this quaint and lovable character† (121); Jubal Early becomes â€Å"the bitter man [who] became as passionate in his hate for the Union as he had formerly been in its defense† (123); and Union general Daniel Sickles (one of the few figures for whom he shows genuine scorn) is â€Å"an unsavory, showy, and pugnacious character from New York who went further on brassy self-confidence and politicking . . . than many a better man went on ability† (203). In trying give his characters personality, Dowdey writes often picturesque and lively prose but also offers a somewhat distorted picture that more detached academic historians may find objectionable. For example, while Lee can do no wrong, Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy’s much-reviled president, appears as nearly as much a villain as Longstreet. Of Davis, Dowdey writes: â€Å"The crisis [in the South’s military fortunes] was caused largely by the defense policies of the president. . . . Among the limitations of this self-aware gentleman was an inability to acknowledge himself in the wrong† (14). As a Lee apologist, Dowdey implicitly blames David for the South’s collapse, though he wavers on this by adding: â€Å"Lincoln had at his disposal unlimited wealth, the organized machinery of government, a navy, the war potential of heavy industry, and a four-to-one manpower superiority. Davis led a disorganized movement in self-determinism composed of proud and fiercely individualistic provincials (15-16). Dowdey comments little about the South in general and does not directly glorify the Southern cause, though he also refrains from any mention of slavery or racism. He seems to simply accept the South as it was, writing his works to illustrate a particularly regionalist sense of pride, if not in its plantation past, then certainly in Lee, its most shining example of military leadership and manhood. He reveals, perhaps unintentionally, his own sense of romance about the South when he writes: â€Å"In a land where the age of chivalry was perpetuated, the military leader embodied the gallantry, the glamour, and the privilege of the aristocrat in a feudal society† (15). Characters like Lee, he implies, gave the South respectability and nobility, while lesser individuals, like the supposedly duplicitous, disloyal Longstreet and the rigid, arrogant Davis, somehow stained it and failed to match its ideals. Despite Dowdey’s biases, he cannot be faulted for failing to do research. He includes a short bibliographic essay at the end, explaining his sources’ strengths and limitations. In addition to using many secondary sources, he relies heavily on participants’ personal documents, such as letters and memoirs, though he concedes that â€Å"the eyewitness accounts are subject to the fallibility of memory, and many of the articles suffer the distortion of advocacy or indictment† (353). This last comment is telling, because Dowdey himself neither advocates nor indicts the Old South, but rather aims to depict the military aspects. The result is a work that shows clear fondness for the South’s self-image as an embattled land of chivalry, but to his credit, Dowdey does not excoriate the North or its leaders. Lincoln scarcely appears in this volume, but the author pays some compliments to Union generals whom historians have seen less favorably, such as Joseph Hooker (whom Lee soundly defeated at Chancellorsville) or George Meade (who won at Gettysburg but failed to pursue and destroy the remains of Lee’s army as it withdrew). Death of a Nation is not a comprehensive history of the battle of Gettysburg, but neither does it claim to be. Instead, it is an often-entertaining, well-researched account of the Southern side’s participation, including its ill-starred behind-the-scenes planning and the personal dynamics among the commanders who underperformed at this key point in the war. Though Dowdey’s conclusion is so brief as to be unsatisfactory, one can draw one’s own conclusion from this volume’s title and the battle it describes: that defeat at Gettysburg meant the Confederacy’s failure to win its nationhood. Dowdey does not openly lament this fact, but instead shows the process that made this failure a reality. Dowdey, C. (1958). Death of a Nation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.