Is war ever justifiable Essays - Laws Of War,

Is war ever justifiable? War is sometimes justifiable. It is sometimes justifiable because it depends on what your intentions are and how you go about executing them. If you were to go to war to get more land or going on a witch hunt that would be unjust but if you were going to war to stop people that are doing those things it would be more just. War is justifiable because it can be used for good when done right. If a country went to war so they could help people or even save them. WW2 was justifiable for the side fighting against Germany because it was to save the Jews and all the other people that were being killed. Also, in WW1 war was justifiable for England because they were fighting against Germany that was trying to expand their land and were taking over countries so England was just trying to help the people that were being effected by what Germany was doing. War is not justifiable because it kills so many people, destroys cities, and even countries. It is not justifiable because if you go to war just because you want more land or more/ different resources because to many people die for that but they don't have to, they could just negotiate with other countries for those things. It's not justifiable to go to war if it's trying to gain world power, because not once has that ever worked and too many people die for a cause that's not going to work. If you're going to war to be a dictator the people don't want that and will most likely cause a uprising and country's will stop helping you so it will cause economic struggle. War is never justifiable because even if you're going to war to help people like in WW2, fighting against Germany and helping the Jews there is still going to be hundreds of thousands of people that are killed in the war even if you are doing it for the right reasons. It is never justifiable because when there's war it costs millions and sometimes billions of dollars and in world war one Germany had to pay it all and all that it did was get Germany mad because it put them in a very bad economic situation and they wanted revenge which caused World War 2. In conclusion war is sometimes justifiable because it depends what your intentions, if you have means of evil, also who and what you're fighting against. There are some very good reasons to go to war and they can be very justifiable. But there is also some very bad, evil, and all round unjustifiable reasons to go to war.

A Predominant Social Barriers on Asian Cultures Essays

A Predominant Social Barriers on Asian Cultures Essays A Predominant Social Barriers on Asian Cultures Paper A Predominant Social Barriers on Asian Cultures Paper According to Health Resources Services Administration, sixty-five to seventy-five percent of all patients seen in a non-profit healthcare clinic live below the poverty level. Providing effective health care to low income families requires an understanding of the potential cultural barriers, which may be faced. These barriers include social, language, religion, and technological issues. The majority of our patients from foreign cultures are Hispanic or Asian. Due to this fact, we will discuss the barriers of dealing with those from Hispanic and Asian Cultures, and offer possible solutions to overcome these obstacles effectively. The number of immigrants entering the United States has been rapidly increasing over the last few years. For instance, the number of Asians in the United States has grown to more than 9 million in 1996. In 1996, there were over 28 million Hispanics in the United States, and the numbers are only increasing. The rapid growth of these two cultures in United States has made overcoming cultural barriers crucial in managing a non-profit healthcare clinic. A predominate social barrier in dealing with those from the Asian culture is their reluctance to disclose personal information to anyone outside of their family. Due to this, they may not be honest and forth coming in giving physicians or other medical staff personal or critical information needed for their treatment. When it comes to healthcare for Asian women, they do not seek out medical care for Gynecological exams because they feel it is an invasion of their body and considered improper and very humiliating for the women. Differences between Asian culture and the American culture are the majority of health issues of Asians are not often addressed in the American health care system. However, the Asian culture is not the only culture that is facing social and economic barriers to healthcare. With the numbers of immigrants increasing, what can we do to ensure that our clinic will be able to address the social and economic issues of all patients? First, we will need to hire someone to act as a cultural liaison, who not only has knowledge about the differing cultures, but can also speak the language. Second, we will need to address these issues and barriers with our clients to successfully seek out ways to eliminate any future barriers we may face. Our educational programs will address issues that range from preventing sexual diseases, use of birth control, and understanding your body all the way to addressing the needs of children. We plan to make our clinic accessible to all low-income families by assuring our potential clients that we are not interested in their legal status, but in the health of their families. We believe by making the clinic’s fees based on a schedule of one’s income, that we are making healthcare affordable for everyone. The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996 Welfare Act†) was the major overhaul of the welfare system that many Americans were looking for to decrease the many who are taking advantage of their hard earned money. One of the main points in the welfare reform legislation deters non- citizens from applying for public assistance. Even if they are eligible, they may fear that receiving public benefits will make them inadmissible or deportable. The many health problems that are prevalent in the Hispanic population are due to lack of adequate health care programs available to non-citizens. Due to that lack of citizenship, they are ineligible for federal health assistance programs such as Medicaid, even if their incomes are low enough to qualify. The lack of availability of health care in the Hispanic population is mainly due to their citizenship status; even with low incomes, Hispanics are ineligible for health care programs such as Medicaid. Non-profit health care clinics do not fall under the Public Charge Law, they are exempt from having to verify immigration status, even if they provide a federal, state, or local public service, and they may not be penalized for not verifying immigration status. State and local governments may not impose verification requirements on such organizations. To be exempt, an organization must be both nonprofit and charitable. With over 600 community and non-profit health centers around the United States, the undocumented populations are assured good quality care without having to worry about being turned into the INS. One of the first types of health center being excluded from the Public Charge Law were Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) with the average number of undocumented aliens served a month being 4,316, at the cost of only $3,258 for all (Bureau of Primary Health Care). Another common barrier between cultures is the difference in language. According to the 1990 United States Census Bureau, almost 2,300 people in Oklahoma over the age of 18 do not speak any English. Over 48,000 of Oklahomans are Spanish speaking. One problem language barriers create is the inability of the patients to communicate with the physician. Often, the physician is unable to clearly understand the symptoms the patient is describing. According to Charles Warren, an anesthesia technician at Mercy Health Center, only 8% of the doctors in the hospitals are multilingual. The breakdown in communication between the doctor and patient can multiply the possibilities of a misdiagnosis. This can cause harm to the patient and make doctors vulnerable to malpractice lawsuits. Another danger, associated with a language barrier, is the possibility of the patients misunderstanding the doctor’s instructions for the medication. A solution for this would be to provide an interpreter to assist the doctor while treating this patient. Many healthcare facilities, such has Mercy Hospital, have a variety of employees who are multilingual, so they may be called upon to provide translation between and doctor and a patient. The hospital’s MIS (Medical Information System) tracks these employees. One option currently available is known as a translator box. It is a service available where the attending physician calls an 800 number and is connected with the interpreter company, the physician informs the company what language he/she needs, and within minutes an interpreter for that particular language is online and ready to assist the physician as needed. Another problem is if the patient cannot read or speak English, they cannot understand the forms they must fill out in order to receive financial assistance for healthcare. The government or insurance agencies that require these forms should distribute these forms in needed languages to all health care facilities, or make them available on a website where the language needed can be chosen and then the forms can be printed. A non-profit health center must have a strategy for dealing with religious barriers. For instance, the Mexican cultural mainly practices Catholicism and attends mass regularly. Catholic doctrine states, â€Å"Direct action to prevent the possibility of human life is impermissible in all circumstances, both when a person is living, dying, or yet to be conceived. Thus contraception may not be used because it is direct action against the possibility of life†. Catholicism even goes so far as to publish an online directory called â€Å"Ethics and Meds†. In â€Å"Ethics and Meds†, they offer books that can be purchased like â€Å"Ethical Principle In Catholic Health Care† which adds the point that the Catholic Church wants its congregation to follow guidelines set by the Church. The physician who is legally and morally bound to follow a set standard in providing health care will provide the patient with the needed information regarding birth control. The responsibility should rest, however, on the patient to inform the physician about their religious beliefs regarding birth control Society usually looks towards a licensed doctor to get advice and heal us. When dealing with the Asian person who practices Buddhism, they must take into account that some strands of this religion have a potential for incorporating religion into their beliefs of healing and restoration of health, for example; healing of the soul, and Acupuncture and Bowen Therapy may be two of those ways to heal the soul. Using acupuncture releases the energy channels by putting pressure on a diseased area. Doctors or a therapist uses a needle to prick the skin regulate and correct the flow of energy in the body. The second one is Bowen Therapy, a subtle muscle/nerve/ connective tissue technique. Unlike massage and other manipulations that try to force a change, Bowen simply resets the body to heal itself. The results are profound and lasting, and usually apparent within two or three sessions. A clinic may want to incorporate these different services for its Buddhist patients. When dealing with these two different religions a non-profit health care clinic must find different ways of helping the patient. The patient needs to be forthright in mentioning how they need to be treated. For instance, a practicing Catholic needs to mention to the doctor that they will not need any information on birth control or family planning. A practicing Buddhist should mention they use holistic medicine. The doctor needs to take the initiative to learn about the religious issues so that he/she can practice, or employ a licensed alternative practitioner to provide these services. Today’s medical technology, if available and used properly, can be a huge benefit in operating and managing a low-income healthcare center. Doctor’s skills, along with the latest medical technology have accounted for saving many lives. Many of the Latino counties are considered third world countries and the people there often do not have access to the latest advances in medical technology. Most are not aware they exist. Many times a person of the Latino culture will not seek medical assistance due to the fact they believe there is nothing the doctors can do for them. Many low-income Latinos suffer for a long time with ailments that can result in permanent effects and even death. Not being aware of the latest advances in medical technology, many feel they are better off attempting to treat themselves with a homemade remedy. These remedies are often ineffective and can even make matters worse. Medical education programs that inform people of advances in medical technology need to be more readily available for patients. These programs inform the patients of the benefits of today’s medical technology, and educate them on the numerous ways the doctors can treat the patients effectively. In doing this, patients from less advanced cultures are often willing to seek medical attention promptly. Often a doctor who went to medical school in a third world country is not instructed in the latest in medical technology. In extenuating circumstances, these doctors are allowed visas to the United States as long as the doctor works in an area, which is designated as a HPSA (health physician shortage area). These doctors, not being aware of the technology available to them in the United States, often rely on older and less effective methods of treating patients. In conclusion, we have addressed the social, language, religion, and technological barriers facing a non-profit health care center that affect the Hispanic and Asian cultures. We have also provided solutions to overcome those barriers in providing health care. If non-profit health care centers will incorporate the resolutions, they would be able to effectively provide quality health care to the Asian and Hispanic population. 1. Factors Affecting the Health of Women of Color, 4women. gov/owh/pub/woc/ hispanic. htm 2. Karen A. Woodrow and Jeffrey S. Passel, Post-IRCA undocumented immigration to the United States: â€Å"An Assessment Based on the June 1988 CPS†, p. 53, 3. Bean, Edmonston, and Passel, Undocumented Migration to the U. S. Washington, The RAND Corporation 1990 4. Miller, Theodore Jr. , Holistic Health, â€Å"Medical Irony at Its Best†, http://reikimaster. net/holistic 5. National Catholic Bioethics Center, Ethical Principle in Catholic Health Care, nbcenter. org/cubs_ethicalpriciple. html

Evil and Omnipotence J. L. Mackie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evil and Omnipotence J. L. Mackie - Essay Example Alternatively, his suggestions explore the diverse nature of approaching evil from a logical and empirical context instead of applying sentimentality. Mackie’s argument in his brilliant article Evil and Omnipotence describes evil as inconsistent with a belief in God. According to the author, evil thrives independently and this often necessitates several problems that are worth noting. For example, a belief in God interferes with the decisions that people make in their lives. Consequently, this causes humanity to solve their challenges using logical or scientific methodologies that are not connected to the finer details of evil. Likewise, the existence of evil is fueled by the disbelief in God in terms of decisions and actions that individuals make to survive. Therefore, the inconsistency arises when good surpasses the power of evil in influencing belief systems. The idea that God does not exist equally dilutes the essence of the argument because most atheists assert the lack of rationality in a supreme being. God’s omnipotence, thus, is fallacious because evil cannot thrive if he is in control of the universe as expl ored by Mackie in his piece. Alternatively, theological positions adopted by most believers allege that while God is good, evil is still present and is committed by human beings. Lack of correct propositions is other forms of illusions that make evil inconsistent because it does not acknowledge the universal good of reality. As a result, fallacies and ethics fail to meet the stipulated standards of ascertaining the consistency of good in society. Constituent propositions have also become negative in differentiating between good and evil while also affirming the belief in God (Mackie 201). Overall, the universe only progresses both materially and spiritually because evil overcomes the complex patterns of the human freewill and the solution. The two options that Mackie discusses as possible solutions are the issue of unlimited

Coursework world war 1 what events didworld war 1 cause and what were Essay

Coursework world war 1 what events didworld war 1 cause and what were the short and long term impacts of this war - Essay Example The Germans had to lose a large piece of their lands as their colonial power was dissolved and restrictions on armed forces as well as the war machinery were imposed. The size of the troops was restricted and Germany was not allowed to have an air force. The treaty also held Germany solely guilty for the bloodshed and demanded economic compensation for the damages done during the war. As a result, Germany lost areas of Alsace and Lorraine. Part one of the treaty stated a creation of a universal body that would maintain universal peace and hence the League of Nations was born. League of Nations was formed with an aim to arbiter international disputes and to play an important role in preventing future wars. The treaty of Versailles treaty created a wave of fury and unrest in the entire Germany and played a major role in initiating World War II by lighting the fire of vengeance in the heart of Germans. The end of World War I brought an economic recession in most of the participating cou ntries. The most visible short term impact of the war was inflation of prices, which affected almost every country including America. The countries had to break away from the gold policy and started issuing currency freely, taxes were increased and unavailability of goods became a common issue. As a result, thousands of people went bankrupt and many died at the hands of poverty.

Education is our Most Important Asset Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education is our Most Important Asset - Essay Example Education is the vehicle we use to promote our society and advance civilization. Education is the glue that holds humanity together and is our most important asset. A good education is more that just the bookwork and classroom learning that is often portrayed as education. A true education instills values and civility. It teaches the student the norms and mores of the society in which they live. Education gives us the tools to interact with our fellow man. This is the most basic and fundamental value of education. As Sahni reminds us, "you can have all the "book" knowledge in the world about a certain profession, but if you don't know how to behave with your co-workers and or your superiors, having "book" knowledge won't get you too far". In understanding the value of education, we need to understand that education can take place anywhere. Having learned the moral foundation for interaction, education can also promote equality and justice. According to a United Nations report titled "The Importance of Education for Women", "Civil and family education should be used to prevent young people from growing up to perpetrate violence against women. Violence was a result of miseducation in the family". Once again we see education at an early age promoting the civil society we expect. Education does not teach us what to think, but how to think. ... The goal of the college is to, "provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential to living in and contribution to an ever-changing democratic society" ("The Importance of Education"). Programs presented at universities are meant to develop a student's autonomy, competence, conscience, and creative capacity. Critical thinking allows the student to decide the validity and value of the information available. Education also forms a standard by which civilization can communicate with one another. The student in Los Angeles will understand the academic paper written in India because they have been educated. Without this formal instruction we would be living in the world of Babel. Our science would be isolated and unattainable outside closed cultures. Without standard building blocks to construct our knowledge upon, most of what we have gained as a society would soon become unintelligible. When filled with slang and misspellings a Nobel Prize project would go unrecognized. As E.D. Hirsch so basically states, "there is a body of information that literate people do know" (131). Education gives us the tools we need to communicate. Education is the glue that binds our fragmented knowledge and allows research to build and create new and innovative opportunities for a civilized future. This educational rubber meets the road in its goal of sustaining a healthy economy. Education creates economic opportunity and it takes education to benefit from it. According to Ferguson, "Today, much of that high-value output demands workers with the creativity, cognitive abilities, and skills to interact with challenging technologies". Workers must be flexible and innovative to exist in today's fast paced world of rapid change. To participate in the

The Strategic Rationale For Outsourcing Decisions

The Strategic Rationale For Outsourcing Decisions By reviewing the relative and risks of making or buying, firms can persuade their expertise and resources for improved profitability. Combining two strategic approaches accurately permit managers to coordinate their companies skills and resources efficiently beyond levels obtainable with other strategies. 1- Concentrate companys possessed resources on its core competencies through which the company can achieve definable incomparability and offer unique value for customers. (Quinn, and Doorley, 1990) 2- Outsourcing strategically other activities of the companies consisting of many conventionally believed primary to a company which are neither special capabilities the firm nor affect critical strategic requirements. (Quinn, 1992) Substantial gains can be achieved from effective combining of the two approaches. Directors leverage their firms resources in four manners. First, they expand returns on in-house resources by focusing investments and energies on the enterprises best jobs. Secondly, if core competencies are well-developed a company can supply astounding barriers for present and forthcoming competitors that look for entering into the companys areas of interest, thus assisting and shielding the strategic advantages of market share. Third, conceivably the utmost leverage of all is the full deployment of external contractors, investments, innovations, and specialized professional capabilities that would be unaffordable or even not possible to replicate internally Fourth, in rapidly shifting marketplaces and technological circumstances, this cooperative strategy reduces risks, shortens discovery and manufacturing cycle times, decrease investments, and generates better responsiveness to customer needs. (Quinn and Hillmer 1995) Earning sustainable competitive advantage through Outsourcing Managers can combine core competency concepts and strategic outsourcing for maximum effectiveness. Managers can analytically select and develop the core competencies that will provide the firms uniqueness, competitive advantage, and basis of value creation for the future. Core competency strategies The basic ideas behind core competencies and strategic outsourcing have been well supported by research extending over a twenty-year period.[4] In 1974, Rumelt noted that neither of the then-favored strategies unrelated diversification or vertical integration yielded consistently high returns.[5] Since then, other carefully structured research has indicated the effectiveness of disaggregation strategies in many industries.[6] Noting the failures of many conglomerates in the 1960s and 1970s, both financial theorists and investors began to support more focused company concepts. Generally this meant sticking to your knitting by cutting back to fewer product lines. Unfortunately, this also meant a concomitant increase in the systematic risk these narrower markets represented. However, some analysts noticed that many highly successful Japanese and American companies had very wide product lines, yet were neither conglomerates nor truly vertically integrated.[7] Japanese companies, like Sony, Mitsubishi, Matsushita, or Yamaha, had extremely diverse product offerings, as did 3M or Hewlett-Packard in the United States. Yet they were not conglomerates in the normal sense. They were termed related conglomerates, redeploying certain key skills from market to market.[8] At the same time, these companies also contracted out significant support activities. Although frequently considered vertically integrated, the Japanese auto Industry, for example, was structured around mother companies that primarily performed design and assembly, with a number of Independent suppliers and alliance partners without ownership bonds to the mother companies feeding into them.[9] Many other Japanese hi-tech companies, particularly the more Innovative ones like Sony and Honda, used comparable strategies leveraging a few core skills against multiple markets through extensive outsourcing. The term core competency strategies was later used to describe these and other less diversified strategies developed around a central set of corporate skills.[10] However, there has been little theory or consistency in the literature about what core really means. Consequently, many executives have been understandably confused about the topic. They need not be if they think in terms of the specific skills the company has or must have to create unique value for customers. However, their analyses must go well beyond looking at traditional product or functional strategies to the fundamentals of what the company can do better than anyone else.[11] For example, after some difficult times, it was easy enough for a beer company like Fosters to decide that it should not be in the finance, forest products, and pastoral businesses into which it had diversified. It has now divested these peripheral businesses and is concentrating on beer. However, even within this concept, Fosters true competencies are in brewing and marketing beer. Many of its distribution, transportation, and can production activities, for example, might actually be more effectively contracted out. Within individual functions like production, Fosters could further extend its competitive advantage by outsourcing selected activities such as maintenance or computing where it has no unique capabilities. The essence of core competencies What then is really core? And [emailprotected] The concept requires that managers think much more carefully about which of the firms activities really do or could create unique value and which activities managers could more effectively buy externally. Careful study of both successful and unsuccessful corporate examples suggests that effective core competencies are: 1. Skill or knowledge sets, not products or functions. Executives need to look beyond the companys products to the intellectual skills or management systems that actually create a maintainable competitive edge. Products, even those with valuable legal protection, can be too easily back-engineered, duplicated, or replaced by substitutes. Nor is a competency typically one of the traditional functions such as production, engineering sales, or finance, around which organizations were formed in the past. Instead, competencies tend to be sets of skills that cut across traditional functions. This interaction allows the organization consistently to perform an activity better than functional competitors and continually to Improve on the activity as markets, technology, and competition evolve. Competencies thus involve activities such as product or service design, technology creation, customer service, or logistics that tend to be based on knowledge rather than on ownership of assets or intellectual property per se. Knowledge-based activities generate most of the value in services and manufacturing. In services, which account for 79 percent of all jobs and 76 percent of all value-added in the United States, intellectual inputs create virtually all of the value-added. Banking, financial services, advertising, consulting, accounting, retailing, wholesaling, education, entertainment, communications, and health care are clear examples. In manufacturing, knowledge-based activities like RD, product design, process design, logistics, marketing research, marketing, advertising, distribution, and customer service @ also dominate the value-added chain of most companies (see Exhibit 1). 2. Flexible, long-term platforms capable of adaptation or evolution. Too many companies try to focus on the narrow areas where they currently excel, usually on some product-oriented skills. The real challenge is to consciously build dominating skills in areas that the customer will continue to value over time, as Motorola is doing with Its focus on superior quality, portable communications. The uniqueness of Toys R Us lies in its powerful information and distribution systems for toys, and that of State Street Boston in its advanced information and management systems for large custodial accounts. Problems occur when managers choose to concentrate too narrowly on products (as computer companies did on hardware) or too inflexibly on formats and skills that no longer match customer needs (as FotoMat and numerous department stores did). Flexible skill sets and constant, conscious reassessment of trends are hallmarks of successful core competency strategies. 3. Limited in number. Most companies target two or three (not one and rarely more than five) activities in the value chain most critical to future success. For example, 3M concentrates on four critical technologies in great depth and supports these with a peerless innovation system. As work becomes more complex, and the opportunities to excel in many detailed activities proliferate, managers find they cannot be best at every activity in the value chain. As they go beyond three to five activities or skill sets, they are unable to match the performance of their more focused competitors or suppliers. Each skill set requires intensity and management dedication that cannot tolerate dilution. It is hard to imagine Microsofts top managers taking their enthusiasm and skills in software into, say, chip design or even large-scale training in software usage. And if they did, what would be the cost of their loss of attention on software development? 4. Unique sources of leverage in the value chain. Effective strategies seek out places where there are market imperfections or knowledge gaps that the company is uniquely qualified to fill and where investments in intellectual resources can be highly leveraged. Raychem and Intel concentrate on depth in design and on highly specialized test-feedback systems supporting carefully selected knowledge-based products not on volume production of standardized products to jump over the experience curve advantages of their larger competitors. Morgan Stanley, through its TAPS system, and Bear Stearns, through its integrated bond-trading programs, have developed in-depth knowledge bases creating unique intellectual advantages and profitability in their highly competitive markets. 5. Areas where the company can dominate. Companies consistently make more money than their competitors only if they can perform some activities which are important to customers more effectively than anyone else. True focus in strategy means the capacity to bring more power to bear on a selected sector than any competitor can. Once, this meant owning and managing all the elements in the value chain supporting a specific product or service in a selected market position. Today, however, some outside supplier, by specializing in the specific skills and technologies underlying a single element in the value chain, can become more proficient at that activity than virtually any company spreading its efforts over the whole value chain. In essence, each company is in competition with all potential suppliers of each activity in its value chain. Hence, it must benchmark its selected core competencies against all other potential suppliers of that activity and continue to build these core capabilities until it is demonstrably best. Thus the basic nature of strategic analysis changes from an industry analysis perspective to a horizontal analysis of capabilities across all potential providers of an activity, regardless of which industry the provider might be in (see Exhibit 1). 6. Elements important to customers in the long run. At least one of the firms core competencies should normally relate directly to understanding and serving its customers that is, the right half of the value chain in Exhibit 1. Hi-tech companies with the worlds best state-of-the-art technology often fail when they ignore this caveat. On the other hand, Merck matches its superb basic research with a prescription drug marketing knowhow that is equally outstanding. By aggressively analyzing its customers, value chains, a company can often identify where it can specialize and provide an activity at lower cost or more effectively to the customer. Such analyses have created whole new Industries, like the specialized mortgage broker, syndication, secondary market, transaction-processing, escrow, title search, and insurance businesses that have now taken over these risks and functions for banks and have disaggregated the entire mortgage industry. 7. Embedded in the organizations systems. Maintainable competencies cannot depend on one or two talented stars such as Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak at Apple or Herbert Boyer and Arthur D. Riggs at Genentech whose departure could destroy a companys success. Instead, the firm must convert these competencies into a corporate reputation or culture that outlives the stars. Especially when a strategy is heavily dependent on creativity, personal dedication, and initiative or on attracting top-flight professionals, core competencies must be captured within the companys systems broadly defined to include its values, organization structures, and management systems. Such competencies might include recruiting (McKinsey, Goldman Sachs), training (McDonalds, Disney), marketing Procter Gamble, Hallmark), innovation (Sony, 3M), motivation systems (ServiceMaster), or control of remote and diverse operating sites within a common framework and philosophy (Exxon, CRA, Inc.). These systems are often at the heart of consistent superior performance; in many cases, a firms systems become its core competencies.(12) Preeminence: The key strategic barrier For Its selected core competencies, the company must ensure that it maintains absolute preeminence. It may also need to surround these core competencies with defensive positions, both upstream and downstream. In some cases, it may have to perform some activities where it is not best-in-world, just to keep existing or potential competitors from learning, taking over, eroding, or bypassing elements of its special competencies. In fact, managers should consciously develop these core competencies to block competitors strategically and avoid outsourcing them or giving suppliers access to the critical knowledge bases or skills that underpin them. Honda, for example, does all its engine RD in-house and makes all the critical parts for its small motor design core competency in closely controlled facilities in Japan. It will consider outsourcing any other noncritical elements in its products, but builds a careful strategic block around this most essential element for all its businesses.(13) Most important, as a companys preeminence in selected fields grows, its knowledge-based core competencies become ever harder to overtake. Knowledge bases tend to grow exponentially in value with Investment and experience. Intellectual leadership tends to attract the most talented people, who then work on and solve the most interesting problems. The combination in turn creates higher returns and attracts the next round of outstanding talent. In addition to the examples we have already cited, organizations as diverse as Bechtel, ATT Bell Labs, Microsoft, Boeing, Intel, Merck, Genentech, McKinsey, Arthur Andersen, Sony, Nike, Nintendo, Bankers T rust, and Mayo Clinic have found this to be true. Some executives regard core activities as those the company is continuously engaged in, while peripheral activities are those that are intermittent and therefore can be outsourced. From a strategic outsourcing viewpoint, however, core competencies are the activities that offer long-term competitive advantage and thus must be rigidly controlled and protected. Peripheral activities are those not critical to the companys competitive edge. Strategic outsourcing If supplier markets were totally reliable and efficient, rational companies would outsource everything except those special activities in which they could achieve a unique competitive edge, that is, their core competencies. Unfortunately, most supplier markets are, imperfect and do entails some risks for both buyer and seller with respect to price, quality, time, or other key dimensions. Moreover, outsourcing entails unique transaction costs searching, contracting, controlling, and recontracting that at times may exceed the transaction costs of having the activity directly under managements in-house control. To address these difficulties, managers must answer three key questions about any activity considered for outsourcing. First, what is the potential for obtaining competitive advantage in this activity, taking account of transaction costs? Second, what is the potential vulnerability that could arise from market failure if the activity is outsourced? Conceptually, these two factors ca n be arrayed In a simple matrix (see Exhibit 2). Third, what can we do to alleviate our vulnerability by structuring arrangements with suppliers to afford appropriate controls yet provide for necessary flexibilities in demand? The two extremes in exhibit 2 are relatively straightforward. When the potential for both competitive edge and strategic vulnerability is high, the company needs a high degree of control, usually entailing production internally or through joint ownership arrangements or tight long-term contracts (explicit or implicity). Marksk Spencer, for example, is famous for its network of tied suppliers, which create the unique brands and styles that underpin the retailers value reputation. Spot suppliers would be too unreliable and unlikely to meet the demanding standards that are Marks Spencers unique consumer franchise. Hence, close control of product quality, design, technology, and equipment through contracts and even financial support is essential. The opposite case is perhaps office cleaning, where little competitive edge is usually possible and there is an active and deep market of supplier firms. In between, there is a continuous range of activities requiring different degrees of control and strategic flexibility. At each Intervening point, the question is not just whether to make or buy, but how to implement a desired balance between independence and incentives for the supplier versus control and security for the buyer. Most companies will benefit by extending outsourcing first in less critical areas, or in parts of activities, like payroll, rather than all of accounting. As they gain experience, they may increase profit opportunities greatly by outsourcing more critical activities to noncompeting firms that can perform them more effectively independence and incentl,v In a few cases, more complex alliances with competitors may be essential to garner specialized skills that cannot be obtained in other ways. At each level, the company must isolate and rigorously control strategically critical relationships between its suppliers and its customers. Competitive edge The key strategic issue in insourcing versus outsourcing is whether a company can achieve a maintainable competitive edge by performing an activity internally usually cheaper, better, in a more timely fashion, or with some unique capability on a continuing basis. If one or more of these dimensions is critical to the customer and if the company can perform that function uniquely well, the activity should be kept in-house. Many companies unfortunately assume that because they have historically performed an activity internally, or because it seems integral to their business, the activity should be insourced. However, on closer investigation and with careful benchmarking, a companys internal capabilities may turn out to be significantly below those of best-in-world suppliers. Ford Motor Company, for example, found that many of its Internal suppliers quality practices and costs were nowhere near those of external suppliers when it began its famous best in class worldwide benchmarking studies on 400 subassemblies for the new Taurus-Sable line. A New York bank with extensive worldwide operations Investigated why its Federal Express costs were soaring and found that its Internal mall department took two days more than Federal Express to get a letter or package from the third floor to the fortieth floor of Its building. In interviews about benchmarking with top operating managers in both service and manufacturing companies, we frequently encountered some paraphrase of We thought we were the best in the world at many activities. But when we benchmarked against the best external suppliers, we found we were not even up to the worst of the benchmarking cases. Transaction costs In all calculations, analysts must include internal transaction costs as well as those associated with external sourcing. If the company is to produce the item or service internally on a long-term basis, it must back up its decision with continuing RD, personnel development, and infrastructure investments that at least match those of the best external supplier; otherwise, it will lose its competitive edge over time. Managers often tend to overlook such backup costs, as well as the losses from laggard innovation and unresponsiveness of internal groups that know they have a guaranteed market. Finally, there are the headquarters and support costs of constantly managing the insourced activity. One of the great gains of outsourcing is the decrease in executive time spent managing peripheral activities freeing top management to focus more on the core of Its business. Various studies have shown that when these internal transaction costs are thoroughly analyzed, they can be extremely high.(14) Since it is easier to identify the explicit transaction costs of dealing with external suppliers, these generally tend to be included in analyses. Harder-to-identify internal transaction costs, however, are often not included, thus biasing results. Vulnerability When there are many suppliers with adequate but not dominating scale) and mature market standards and terms, a potential buyer is unlikely to be more efficient than the best available supplier. If, on the other hand, there is not sufficient depth in the market, overly powerful suppliers can hold the company ransom. Conversely, if the number of suppliers is limited or individual suppliers are too weak, they may be unable to supply innovative products or services as well as a much larger buyer could by performing the activity in-house. While the activity or product might not be one of its core competencies, the company might nevertheless benefit by producing internally rather than undertaking the training, investment, and codesign expenses necessary to bring weak suppliers up to needed performance levels. Another form of vulnerability is the lack of information available in the marketplace or from individual suppliers., for example, a supplier may secretly expect labor disruptions or raw material problems, but hide these concerns until it is too late for the customer to go elsewhere. A related problem occurs when a supplier has unique information capabilities: for example, large wholesalers or retailers, market research firms, software companies, or legal specialists may have information or fact-gathering systems that would be impossible for the buyer or any other single supplier to reproduce efficiently. Such suppliers may be able to charge what are essentially monopoly prices, but purchasing from them could still be less costly than reproducing the service Internally. In other cases, there may be many capable suppliers (for example, in RD or software), but the costs of adequately monitoring progress on the suppliers, premises might make outsourcing prohibitive. Sometimes the whole structure of information in an industry will militate for or against outsourcing. Computing, for example, was largely kept in-house in Its early years because the information available to a buyer of computing services and Its ability to make judgments about such services were very different for the buying company (which knew very little) than for the supplier (which had excellent information). Many buyers lacked the competency either to assess or to monitor sellers, and feared loss of vital information. A company can outsource computing more easily today, in part because buyers, computer, technical management, and software knowhow are sufficient to make informed judgments about external suppliers. In addition to information anomalies, Stuckey and White note three types of asset specificity that commonly create market imperfections, calling for controlled sourcing solutions rather than relying on efficient markets.(15) These are: (1) site specificity, where sellers have located costly fixed assets in close proximity to the buyer, thus minimizing transport and inventory costs for a single supplier; (2) technical specificity, where one or both parties must invest in equipment that can be used only by the parties in conjunction with each other and has low value, in alternative uses; and (3) human capital specificity, where employees must develop in-depth skills that are specific to a particular buyer or customer relationship. Stuckey and White explain the outsourcing implications of information and specificity problems in the case of a bauxite mine and an alumina refiner. Refineries are usually located close to mines because of the high cost of transporting bauxite, relative to Its value. Refineries in turn are tuned to process the narrow set of physical properties associated with the particular mines bauxite. Different and highly specialized skills and assets are needed for refining versus mining. Access to Information further compounds problems., if an independent mine expects a strike, it is unlikely to share that information with its customers, unless there are strong incentives. As a result, the aluminum industry has moved toward vertical integration or strong bilateral joint ventures, as opposed to open outsourcing of bauxite supplies despite the apparent presence of a commodity product and many suppliers and sellers. In this case, issues of both competitive advantage and potential market failure dictate a higher degree of sourcing control. Degree of source control In deciding on a sourcing strategy for a particular segment of their business, managers have a wide range of control options the Exhibits 3 and 4 for the most basic). Where there is high potential both for vulnerability and for competitive edge, tight control is indicated (as in the bauxite case). At the opposite end is, say, office cleaning. Between these extremes are opportunities for developing special incentives or more complex oversight contracts to balance intermediate levels of vulnerability against more moderate prospects for competitive edge. Nikes multi-tier strategy offers an interesting example (see boxed insert on page 62). The practice and law of strategic alliances are rapidly developing new ways to deal with common control issues by establishing specified procedures that permit direct involvement in limited stages of a partners activities, without incurring either ownership arrangements or the loss of control inherent ln arms-length transactions. Flexibility versus control Within this framework, there is a constant tradeoff between flexibility and control. One of the main purposes of outsourcing is to have the supplier assume certain classes of investment and risk, such as demand variability. To optimize costs, the buying company may want to maintain its internal capacity at re atively constant levels despite highly fluctuating sales demands. Under these circumstances, it needs a surge strategy. McDonalds, for example, with $8billion in sales and 10.1 percent growth per year, needs to call in part-time and casual workers to handle extensive daily variations yet also be able to select its future permanent or managerial personnel from these people. IBM has had the opposite problem, since its core demand has been declining, the company has had to lay off employees. Yet it needs surge capacity for: (1) quick access to some former employees, basic skills; (2) available production capacity without the costs of supporting facilities full time; and (3) the ability to exploit strong outside parties specialized capabilities through temporary consortia for example, in applications software, microprocessors, network development, or factory automation. Strategically, McDonalds has created a pool of people available on call options, while IBM through spinouts of factories with baseload commitments to IBM, guaranteed consulting employment for key people, flexible joint venturts, and strategic alliances has created put options to handle surge needs as it downsizes and tries to turn around its business. There is a full spectrum of outsourcing arrangements, depending on the companys control and flexibility needs (see Exhibit 4). The issue is less whether to make or buy an activity than it is how to structure internal versus external sourcing on an optimal basis. Companies are outsourcing much more of what used to be considered either integral elements of their value chains or necessary staff activities. Because of greater complexity, higher specialization, and new technological capabilities, outside suppliers can now perform many such activities at lower cost and with higher value-added than a fully integrated company can. In some cases, new production technologies have moved manufacturing economies of scale toward the supplier. In others, service technologies have lowered transaction costs substantially, making it possible to specify, transport, store, and coordinate inputs from external sources so inexpensively that the balance of benefits has shifted from insourcing to outsourcing. In certain specialized niches, outside companies have grown to such size and sophistication that they have developed economies of scale, scope, and knowledge intensity so formidable that neither smaller nor more integrated producers can effectively compete with them (for example, ADP Services in payroll, and ServiceMaster in maintenance). To the extent that knowledge of a specific activity is more important than knowledge of the end product itself, specialized suppliers can often produce higher value-added at lower cost for that activity than almost any integrated company. Strategic benefits versus risks Too often companies look at outsourcing as a means to lower only short-term direct costs. However, through strategic outsourcing, companies can lower their long-term capital investments and leverage their key competencies significantly, as Apple and Nike have done. They can also force many types of risk and unwanted management problems onto suppliers. Gallo, the largest producer and distributor of wines in the United States, outsources most of its grapes, pushing the risks of weather, land prices, and labor problems onto its suppliers. Argyle Diamonds, one of the worlds largest diamond producers, outsources virtually all aspects of its operation except the crucial steps of separation and sorting of diamonds. It contracts all its huge earth-moving operations (to avoid capital and labor risks), its housing and food services for workers (to avoid confrontations on nonoperating issues), and much of its distribution (to De Beers to protect prices, to finance inventories, and to avoid the complications of worldwide distribution). By outsourcing to best-in-class suppliers in each case, it further ensures the quality and image of its operations. Important strategic benefits Strategically, outsourcing can provide the buyer with greater flexibility, especially in the purchase of rapidly developing new technologies, fashion goods, or the myriad components of complex systems. It reduces the companys design-cycle t

Personal Writing: A Schoolyard Lesson :: essays research papers

Personal Writing: A Schoolyard Lesson "Get up, get up you have school today," my mother blurted out, as I fell out of bed. I stood up and waddled to the bathroom. Looking into the mirror I smiled to myself; I knew today was going to be just fine. My family and I had just moved from Guatemala, and today was to be my first day at Bel Air Elementary School. I usually don't get worried about these situations, since I've been through the routine before, besides I tend to make friends pretty easily. Why would today be any different, I told myself. I finished brushing my teeth and splashing my face, then continued to get dressed. I threw on some Bugle Boy caches, a Polo shirt, and some Nikes. After giving up on my hair; I ran into the kitchen and snatched my lunch box off the counter. Soon I was out the door and on to face my first day at my new school. After defeating the labyrinth of streets that we call our neighborhood, and meeting my first crossing guard; I made my way into the school. It was quite crowded , but I knew where I was headed. I proceeded up the stairs and down the hall to room 212, where I sat down in the front row. I turned around and took a quick peak at the class; scanning the room for someone to talk to. When I saw no opportunities I began to get a bit timid, but as soon as the bell rang I felt all right. We went through the motions for awhile: filling out paper work, introducing ourselves, all the first day stuff. I heard a few kids say they were new to the area, of which Brian Vedder was the only boy. He wasn't much to look at, not a soap opera star, or a great athlete, just a regular kid. Nonetheless I thought I'd like to meet him and talk to him later on in the day. By this time we all were becoming restless, and I definitely knew why. Everyone was waiting for recess, the time when kids get to have fun and let it all hang out. After all we didn't have class all summer, and keeping our butts in those chairs for so long was beginning to hurt. Lunch rolled around and we knew what that meant; recess was next. The bell rang and everyone ran outside, bursting onto the playground like a swarm of locusts attacking crops. I saw many games going on: dodgeball, soccer, jump

John Donne’s Poetic Philosophy of Love

John Donne's Poetic Philosophy of Love For the enormously complex and vexed John Donne (1572-1631), the one in whom all â€Å"contraries meet,† (Holy Sonnet 18), life was love—the love of women in his early life, then the love of his wife (Ann More), and finally the love of God. All other aspects of his experience apart from love, it seems, were just details. Love was the supreme concern of his mind, the preoccupation of his heart, the focus of his experience, and the subject of his poetry.The centrality and omnipresence of love in Donne’s life launched him on a journey of exploration and discovery. He sought to comprehend and to experience love in every respect, both theoretically and practically. As a self appointed investigator, he examined love from every conceivable angle, tested its hypotheses, experienced its joys, and embraced its sorrows. As Joan Bennett said, Donne’s poetry is â€Å"the work of one who has tasted every fruit in love’s orc hard. . . † Combining his love for love and his love for ideas, Donne became love’s philosopher/poet or poet/philosopher.In the context of his poetry, both profane and sacred, Donne presents his experience and experiments, his machinations and imaginations, about love. Some believe that Donne was indeed â€Å"an accomplished philosopher of erotic ecstasy† (Perry 2), but such a judgment seems to be too much. Louis Martz notes that â€Å"Donne’s love-poems take for their basic theme the problem of the place of love in a physical world dominated by change and death. The problem is broached in dozens of different ways, sometimes implicitly, sometimes explicitly, sometimes by asserting the immortality of love, sometimes by declaring the futility of love†.Donne was not an accomplished philosopher of eroticism per se, but rather a psychological poet who philosophized about love, sometimes playfully, sometimes seriously. The question, thus, arises as to the nature and content of Donne’s philosophy of love serendipitously expressed in his sacred and profane poetry. I will also argue that this particular philosophical perspective in Donne established the basis for the intimate connection between his profane and sacred poetry in which religious and sexual themes are closely linked and intermeshed.After briefly touching on the intellectual atmosphere in which Donne worked, I will proceed to examine the Ovidian and Petrarchan traditions in Donne’s amatory lyrics, and their respective contributions to his philosophy of love. The subject of Petrarchism was â€Å"love,† of course, emotional and spiritual love â€Å"conceived as a noble way of life, and the lover as an aristocrat of feeling† (Guss 49). Donne’s development in his profane poetry of the nobility and aristocracy of Petrarchan love was by means of these essential themes including, . . . he proem, the initiation of love [â€Å"The Good Morrow†] , the complaint against the lady’s obduracy [â€Å"Twickenham Garden†], the expression of sorrow at parting [â€Å"The Expiration†], the remonstrance against the god Love [Love’s Exchange†], the elegy on the lady’s death [â€Å"A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy’s Day, being the shortest day†], and the renunciation of love [â€Å"Farewell to Love†]. Other common themes are the lady’s eyes, her hair, her illness [â€Å"The Fever†], the dream [â€Å"The Dream†], the token [â€Å"A Jet Ring Sent†], the anniversary of love [â€Å"The Anniversary†], and the definition of love [â€Å"Negative Love†].How can a man and a woman achieve a love which is not based on rank sensuality, and yet which recognizes human physicality and ascribes a proper role and function to the body? How can a man and woman love one another with deep spiritual intensity and soulful devotion, and yet at the same time sto p short of romantic or emotional idolatry? How can both components of humanity—body and soul—be brought together into a happy synthesis to create a love that eschews the problems of Ovidian immorality and Petrarchan idolatry, but is rather ordinate and rightly ordered?The answers to these questions and the resolution of these tensions are found in Donne’s concept of idealized love generated largely under the influence of a Christian Platonism which establishes the sine qua non of his philosophy of love. It is a philosophy of love that seeks to balance the roles and establish right relations between both body and soul. Donne’s perspective is an attempt at integration, at wholeness, a striving at the reconciliation of opposing, dialectical forces.It seems that ever since the fall of humanity, life has been characterized by division and fragmentation: God vs. man, heaven vs. earth, man vs. woman, body vs. soul, action vs. contemplation, theory vs. practice, and so on. Donne seeks to heal and harmonize at least one aspect of a divided world: his view is body and soul, not body or soul. He defines and describes the component parts of love in light of the comprehensive nature of humanity. His position would seem to answer the questions and resolve the tensions created by the Ovidian and Petrarchan traditions in his love poetry.It would avoid the Ovidian problem of sexual immorality, and Petrarchan problem of romantic idolatry. Love is powerful, and it may very well abuse the body or the soul in its quest for satisfaction. But it can be rightly ordered as well. Donne’s outlook finds an appropriate place for both the body and the soul in a rightly ordered love. When coupled with his devotional poetry, the pattern indeed becomes complete, for it is in the love of God, which is the highest of all love, that human love itself finds its meaning and final reference point.If it is true that all human love has as its source and meaning in t he very love of God, then there must be a reciprocal relationship between these two forms of love, the infinite and the finite. God’s love validates human love, and human love reflects and images God’s. There is an intimate connection between love both human and divine. This would certainly be true in Donne’s Christian Platonism in which all things on earth, including human love, are a reflection of and point to things in heaven.

Free Essays on The Cultural Transformation Of Cricket

In the 19TH century the European missionaries invaded the Trobriand islands. The Trobriand island is located off the coast of New Papua-New Guinea. The Trobriand’s were a tribe who had a strong culture, and held warfare as a high importance. During the invasion of the Europeans the Trobriand’s were forced to set aside their â€Å"barbarous† rituals and were introduced to the game of cricket. Cricket was taught to the Trobriand’s to eliminate the conflict between two locals. Over the years the game has undergone a remarkable cultural transformation, among the people in the Trobriand islands. The game of Cricket on the Trobraind Island is played in warfare clothing. Public covering is expected of the men and clothing is made from a coconut tree. One the day of the game at first light the players paint themselves in warfare colors to give them a new identity. Each teams enters the field dancing and chanting, taunting the other side to dare compete. The dancing is precise, vigorous, and aggresive. The game is usually played for two days, involving many innings as there are players, and no one is killed. One can gain status in the Trobriand society by organizing the game. In a Trobraind Cricket there are many people on a team, whereas in the European Cricket the players were limited to twelve. The game is usually played by two locals, with an understanding that the home team will always win. The younger men in the tribes usually play the game and the elders in the community are usually assist the score keeper who is usually a man of importance or a man from another village. In trobriand cricket the score is kept on a palm tree leaf. The bats and balls in cricket are made of light and hard wood. The ball is thrown underhand as though the Trobrainds are throwing a spear. The Host teams prepared the ball and magic is used to control the ball. Magic is also used in the game. The centerman approaches the magaicia... Free Essays on The Cultural Transformation Of Cricket Free Essays on The Cultural Transformation Of Cricket In the 19TH century the European missionaries invaded the Trobriand islands. The Trobriand island is located off the coast of New Papua-New Guinea. The Trobriand’s were a tribe who had a strong culture, and held warfare as a high importance. During the invasion of the Europeans the Trobriand’s were forced to set aside their â€Å"barbarous† rituals and were introduced to the game of cricket. Cricket was taught to the Trobriand’s to eliminate the conflict between two locals. Over the years the game has undergone a remarkable cultural transformation, among the people in the Trobriand islands. The game of Cricket on the Trobraind Island is played in warfare clothing. Public covering is expected of the men and clothing is made from a coconut tree. One the day of the game at first light the players paint themselves in warfare colors to give them a new identity. Each teams enters the field dancing and chanting, taunting the other side to dare compete. The dancing is precise, vigorous, and aggresive. The game is usually played for two days, involving many innings as there are players, and no one is killed. One can gain status in the Trobriand society by organizing the game. In a Trobraind Cricket there are many people on a team, whereas in the European Cricket the players were limited to twelve. The game is usually played by two locals, with an understanding that the home team will always win. The younger men in the tribes usually play the game and the elders in the community are usually assist the score keeper who is usually a man of importance or a man from another village. In trobriand cricket the score is kept on a palm tree leaf. The bats and balls in cricket are made of light and hard wood. The ball is thrown underhand as though the Trobrainds are throwing a spear. The Host teams prepared the ball and magic is used to control the ball. Magic is also used in the game. The centerman approaches the magaicia...

Biography of Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie Dolls

Biography of Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie Dolls Ruth Handler (November 4, 1916–April 27, 2002) was an American inventor who created the iconic Barbie doll in 1959 (the doll was named after Handlers daughter Barbara). Barbie was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The Ken doll was named after Handlers son and was introduced two years after Barbie debuted. Handler was the co-founder of Mattel, a company that manufactures a variety of popular toys. Fast Facts: Ruth Handler Known For: Handler founded the toy company Mattel and invented the Barbie doll.Born: November 4, 1916 in Denver, ColoradoParents: Jacob and Ida MoskoDied: April 27, 2002 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaSpouse: Elliot Handler (m. 1938-2002)Children: 2 Early Life Handler was born Ruth Marianna Mosko on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado. Her parents were Jacob and Ida Mosko. She married Elliot Handler, her high school boyfriend, in 1938. Mattel With Harold Matt Matson, Elliot created a garage workshop in 1945. Their business name Mattel was a combination of the letters of their last and first names. Matson soon sold his share of the company, so the Handlers, Ruth and Elliot, took full control. Mattels first products were picture frames. However, Elliot eventually started making dollhouse furniture from picture frame scraps. That proved to be such a success that Mattel switched to making nothing but toys. Mattels first big-seller was the Uka-a-doodle, a toy ukulele. It was the first in  the line  of musical toys. In 1948, the Mattel Corporation was formally incorporated in California. In 1955, the company changed toy marketing forever  by acquiring the rights to produce the popular Mickey Mouse Club products. The cross-marketing promotion became common  practice  for future toy companies. In 1955, Mattel released  a  successful patented toy cap gun called the burp gun. Invention of Barbie In 1959, Ruth Handler created  the Barbie doll. Handler would later refer to herself as Barbies mom. Mattell founders Ruth and Elliott Handler with a barbie doll. Courtesy of Mattel   Handler watched her daughter Barbara and friends playing with paper dolls. The children used them to play make-believe, imagining roles as college students,  cheerleaders,  and adults with careers. Handler aspired  to invent a doll that would better facilitate the way young girls were playing with their dolls. Handler and Mattel introduced Barbie, the teenage fashion model, to skeptical toy buyers at the annual Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. The new doll was very unlike the baby and toddler dolls that were popular at the time. This was a doll with an adult body. What was the inspiration? During a family trip to Switzerland, Handler saw the German-made Bild Lilli doll in a Swiss shop and bought one. The Bild Lilli doll was a collectors item  and  not intended for sale to children; however, Handler used it as the basis for her design for Barbie. The Barbie doll’s first boyfriend, the Ken Doll, debuted two years after Barbie in 1961. Handler said Barbie was a symbol of freedom and possibility for young girls and women: â€Å"Barbie has always represented that a woman has choices. Even in her early years, Barbie did not have to settle for only being Ken’s girlfriend or an inveterate shopper. She had the clothes, for example, to launch a career as a nurse, a stewardess, a nightclub singer. I believe the choices Barbie represents helped the doll catch on initially, not just with daughters- who would one day make up the first major wave of women in management and professionals- but also with mothers.† The Story of Barbie Handler created a personal story for the very first Barbie doll. She was named Barbie Millicent Roberts and she was from Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie was a teenage fashion model. Now, however, the doll has been made in many versions connected to over 125 different careers, including president of the United States. Barbie came as either a brunette or blond, and in 1961, a red-headed Barbie was released. In 1980, the first African-American Barbie and Hispanic Barbie were introduced. The first Barbie was sold for $3. Additional clothing based on the latest runway trends from Paris were sold as well for between $1 and $5. In 1959, the year Barbie was released, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold. Today, a mint condition #1 Barbie doll can fetch as much as $27,000. To date, more than 70 fashion designers have made clothes for Mattel, using in excess of 105 million yards of fabric. There has been some controversy over Barbies figure ever since it was realized that if the doll were a real person, her measurements would be an impossible 36-18-38. Barbies real measurements are 5 inches (bust), 3 1/4 inches (waist), and 5 3/16 inches (hips). Her weight is 7  ¼ ounces, and her height is 11.5 inches. In 1965, Barbie had bendable legs and eyes that opened and shut. In 1967, a Twist N Turn Barbie was released that had a movable body that twisted at the waist. The best-selling Barbie doll of all time was the Totally Hair Barbie of 1992, which had hair from the top of her head to her toes. Other Inventions After fighting breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy in 1970, Handler surveyed the market for a suitable prosthetic breast. Disappointed by the options available, she set about designing a replacement breast that was more similar to a natural one. In 1975, Handler received a patent for Nearly Me, a prosthesis made of material close in weight and density to that of natural breasts. Death Handler developed colon cancer in her 80s. She died on April 27, 2002, at the age of 85. Handler was survived by her husband, who died on July 21, 2011. Legacy Handler created one of the worlds most successful toy companies, Mattel. Her Barbie doll is one of the most popular and iconic toys in the world. In 2016, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris had a Barbie show featuring hundreds of dolls alongside artworks inspired by Barbie. Sources Gerber, Robin.  Barbie and Ruth: the Story of the Worlds Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. Harper, 2010.Stone, Tanya.  The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: a Dolls History and Her Impact on Us. Paw Prints, 2015.

Was the urbanization good for south America Essay

Was the urbanization good for south America - Essay Example Thousands of people flocked into America to escape, political oppression they faced in their home countries. Between 1881 and 1890 alone, there were a total of 5,246,613 immigrants who had arrived in America (McKelvey, 1963). As the urban areas grew in size and a number, there were a number of negative social, political and economic effects which were associated with it. The discussion in this paper discusses some of the problems associated with urbanization during the late 19th century. (Wakstein, 1990) The main problem of urbanization during the 19th century was the poor or lack of planning in the cities. The urbanization in America was mainly accelerated by migration of people, industrialization and technology. The spiral increase in the population did not give government authorities enough time to plan and budget for the increasing numbers (Ghadar&Loughran, 2014). Lack of poor infrastructure and planning resulted to a number of social problems which includes; a number of basic services like police and fire departments were; inadequate disposal system; there was a huge sanitation problem; lack of hospitals and medical facilities; and the geometric growth of the population. (Wakstein, 1990) There was constant increase in the cases of reported crime in the urban centers. The constant growth in the population, together with reduced police control proved a challenge for the police to control incidences of criminal acts in the cities. Thieves took the advantage of the teeming masses in the cities to rob people. The consumption of alcoholic drinks and other drugs as people tried to escape drudgery and boredom of their daily lives. There was increased violence which included number of people who were murdered in the cities. The incidences of child labor also went high. (McKelvey, 1963) With the upsurge in the number of people who were flocking the urban cities to

Computer Programming I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Computer Programming I - Essay Example C# is employed in software development projects intended for a huge amount of Windows and Microsoft products like that Microsoft Access, SQL Server, Microsoft Office, ASP.NET, and Web based platforms development through ASP.NET, Document Sharing, and Microsoft SharePoint intended for collaboration as well as Intranet Development plus a broad amount of other products. The C# programming language as well helps and supports the development of applications for the PocketPC or mobile development as well as Desktop or Windows development. The need for C# programming skills is yet elevated even in the present economic climate. We can verify these facts from today’s top job advertisement website like that Monster, Dice or Career-Builder or some of the other top job websites. C-Sharp (C#) language based software developers having six months of computer programming expertise and experience are capable to obtain full-time jobs, contracting or consulting positions at any province, state o r city. C# programming language developer salaries vary from $60,000 to six figures. Although, six figure pay are more widespread for C-Sharp software development advisors as compared to full-time workers, they are yet available for truly good C# developers. One of the most excellent secrets of becoming a computer programmer is that we are able to learn computer programming at home as well as improve our abilities to a capable level without initially obtaining a programming job. As it is figured out that total cost of investments of taking expertise and effective knowledge of C-sharp computer programming training would be small enough in comparison to how much we pay for studying law or medicine in college. What we need is to stress for a computer programming profession regarding taking expertise in coding skills, software development knowledge as well as some programming experience that is connected to the job we are