Well

SAS is a privately-owned creator of software in the globe. It was ranked as the finest company to work in, owing to their drive to provide customers with the greatest business methodical technology and sustenance. The company has a user friendly HR strategy which provides technology applications enabling its customers to navigate easily and capitalize in the challenges and opportunities faced in their business life.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Well-designed HR systems in SAS specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company has its own balanced scorecard solution which includes a planned and HR vision software. The measurement of HR strategies is the best starting point to deal with an economy where value creation is dominated by human capital and some assets which are indefinable. Strategy is part of their goal, enabling the organization to learn how to lever the knowledge to their advantage. Combining s trategy and analytics has remarkably made the organization make informed decisions concerning the welfare of its customers (Cary and Lincoln 2000). The organization provides its employees with balanced lives which eventually lead to business and adept technology which can be appreciated. An environment that inspires the employees is offered, allowing them to build long-term relationships with their customers and focus in solving their economic troubles. As a result, SAS gleaned greater value from the huge volumes of data they collect resulting in their being the leader in business analytics. SAS enables its customers to turn vast quantity of data into usable knowledge in a supportive, encouraging and empowering culture. The employees create hours that they feel work best for them, and they end up feeling like a family. It is possible for another firm to adapt to the culture of SAS. Creating a family-like environment for its employees is influential in increasing the productivity of employees. Conflicting HRM practices Conflicting practices in HRM is one of the reasons of lack of total performance in any organization. There are two levels that HRM is concerned with; the recruitment, motivating and developing of competent employees, and the assignment of conflict management. A level of conflict is usually experienced in many organizations hence the HRM specialist must formulate methods to eliminate or alter the conflict that arises (Campbell, Macklin Pinnington 2007). The conflicts usually involve achieving targets of production against representing the interests of the workforce. Achieve a balance between the two is indeed a hard task in this time of political and economic reforms.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Recommendations Organizations must understand that the endowment and commitment of their staff and managers are their greatest asset s. There must be structural challenges in the organization which must ensure that the workforce of the organization get recognition for their work. Managers must posses principled negotiating and counseling skills in order to handle issues of vacancies, transfer and voluntary retirement of employees. Local management enlightening and training mechanisms must be developed to equip the management with the necessary skills. Attempts to recruit and retain highly skilled workers must be made from the onset in order to have a minimal workforce which is productive. The company should embrace the idea of development of the careers of the employees and enable discussions on their career and aspirations (Campbell, Macklin Pinnington 2007). Conclusion It is the responsibility of HR departments to ensure that their organization creates a favorable environment for its employees. Suitable working conditions create greater productivity and career enhancement. Highly-efficient employees will be mo tivated to be more productive and boost the organization’s image. References Campbell, T. Macklin, R. Pinnington, A. (2007). Human resource management:Â  ethics and employment. New York: Oxford university press. Cary, N. Lincoln, M. (2000). Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Taps SAS for HRÂ  Action Working Group. Web. This research paper on Well-designed HR systems in SAS was written and submitted by user Keaton Durham to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

review for A peoples history of the United States essays

review for A people's history of the United States essays What is behind the glorious appearance of the history of the United States? Howard Zinn provided the readers an answer to that question in his book, A People ¡s History of the United States. Different from the textbooks that were always praising how great a country America is. A People ¡s history of the United States gave the readers a brief idea on the cost behind the surface, the lives and people that were lost or forgotten, and the unjustness that was put on various groups of people. Zinn ¡s description of the history of the United States came from a very biased perspective. He wrote down history with an attitude that changed the original facts that would mislead his readers. He wanted his readers to know what facts came before the greatness of America was achieved. How the country was formed from destroying numberless Indian tribes, the discrimination towards the Indians and the colored people and women, and the war that was actually started by the United States with Mexico and taken half of it ¡s country. Americans who took high school history and people in the rest of the world who took world history always looked at these events in a way that the US government only did what they did to accomplish a positive goal. But Zinn saw that the US government was in favor of the business class and was interest only in what would make profit. From the point of view of this book, all the decisions the government made was based on profit, either to expand the country for more land which meant more production or to gain more consumers to buy the products. The book was written to try and see the history of the United States from a people ¡s point of view. If it is said that the textbooks provided in high schools is extremely biased from the view of the government, then this book would be the book that is extremely biased from the view of the working class, the natives, and the colored immigrants. How the people felt about the wars fough...

An information system

An information system Introduction: An information system is a set of interrelated components that collect or retrieve, process, store and distribute information to support organisational decision-making and control. One of the key issues with ‘information systems’ (IS) (these days) is that companies cannot measure if they are becoming more profitable or efficient by using the systems that they purchase. In a study done by KPMG on 200 UK firms, around seventeen billion GBP is lost each year due to the mismanagement and misalignment of information technology (IT). One way to evaluate a firms’ IS usefulness is to use the resource-based view â€Å"inside-out approach,† which means that a company should identify its core business values and in turn, align these goals with a suitable information system that will fulfil these needs. Often times, however, large multinational firms implement new technology, regardless of whether it benefits the company or not and there is no way to mea sure results. Therefore, it is beneficial to look at a firm who has implemented a successful IS, for which it receives its competitive advantage. Inditex is a major holding company based in La Coruà ±a, Spain, which maintains controls over popular clothing stores such as Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka amongst others. For the purpose of this report, we will look at Zara in more detail, a store known for its high fashion for reasonable prices, with many clothing stores in prime locations in metropolitan cities around the world. It competes with other clothing stores such as H&M and Gap but it sets itself apart from them using its savvy information system and rapid production schedule. For the purpose of this report, we will examine Zara’s Technological and Socio-Economic Environment along with Zara’s knowledge chain management to evaluate its alignment of information technology as a function of Zara’s business strategy. IT in alignment with Business Strategy: Zara’s business strategyis to provide fast fashion for low prices. Based on this principle, one of Zara’s developed core competencies is its effective and minimalistic approach to utilizing IT for the purpose of timely knowledge transfer, fast production turnaround and employee empowerment. Aspects beyond which are not directly connected to Zara’s core competencies, the company prefers to outsource, such as its logistics. In order to understand the effects of IT on Zara’s business model, we must take into consideration the technological and socio-economic factors affecting Zara, such as its management process, employee skills, technology, structure and strategy. The management process: The management processof Zara is supported by its holding company Inditex, who manages other popular European brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, etc. however, each clothing store is distinct because Inditex supports organisational learning, as opposed to maintain ing firm control on these stores. Not only is each entity separate, but management encourages employee empowerment at Zara by allowing its employees the flexibility to choose new clothing designs for its store on a bi-weekly basis. Therefore, in just one city alone, one Zara store may have significantly different inventory than another Zara store up the road. Despite these differences, Inditex is still able to create economies of scale and scope based on the learning curve between its inter-related brands.

Major HR issues and International managers Essay

Major HR issues and International managers - Essay Example Thus, â€Å"globalization is mainly process driven by international trade and investment for the benefit of the investor as well as the host country, with particularly emphasis on the employees as well as employees on both sides† (Rothenberg 2002, p.1). While employing local employees in the host country as well as employees from the foreign countries or expatriate employees, organizations have to implement certain International Human Resource Management (IHRM) aspects to manage those employees optimally and effectively. This is where the role of international managers assumes importance. That is, the international managers by using IHRM concepts have to play a prominent role in the management of human resources or employees particularly foreign or expatriate employees. Human Resource Management (HRM) is concerned with the way in which organizations manage their people (Redman and Wilkinson 2001). So, this paper will discuss how the employee centric HRM aspects like appraisal and assessment techniques, rewarding system and importantly training has to be managed effectively by the International managers to enhance the manageability of the local employees working in an MNC under foreign management as well as the expatriate employees working in an MNC under foreign management, in total employees who are working under foreign or international management. Role of International Human Resources Management (IHRM) Organizations particularly MNCs, will not remain â€Å"static†. They will or have to break ‘boundaries’ both from geographical perspective as well as economical perspective to utilize the opportunities in the new markets or countries and emerge successful. Thus, internationalisation is a happening concept which is being used by many firms to expand their reach globally. â€Å"As the global economy expands, as more products and services compete on a global basis and as more and more firms operate outside their countries of origin, th e impact on various business functions becomes more pronounced† (Briscoe and Schuler 2004, p. 20). When the organizations enter new countries as part of their global expansion plans, they will recruit employees from the local population. They will do that as a feasible as well as a responsible thing. That is, feasible thing in the sense, as the MNC will be stationed in those host countries, recruiting from local places will be an easy process than bringing employees from their home country or other Third countries. (Scullion and Collings 2006). In addition, as they will be manufacturing and marketing product or service for the local population, local employees will be the best choice. Importantly, it is a responsible thing because through recruitment of local employees, MNCs will try to give a share of their benefits. Although it is an unwritten rule, organizations are duty bound to recruit the local employees. Apart from fulfilling their responsibility, this recruitment of lo cal employees importantly will provide the MNCs with cheap and surplus labour. Thus, with the recruitment of local employees being a key component of MNC’s operations, the recruited employees have to be managed optimally by the International managers on the basis of effective HR policies or IHRM policies. After the

Team Effectiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Effectiveness - Essay Example Poorly managed teams on the other hand will always end in irreconcilable failure. Effectiveness of any given team depends on the leadership, roles assigned and the basis of its formation. It is always imperative for team members to understand all the defining factors and forces set to drive the given team. Effective teams always depict certain unique characteristics that are different from failing or ineffective teams. One of the common and basic characteristics of any effective team relies on the listening skills and levels of understanding of all individual members within the team. Most successful teams comprise of members with good if not excellent listening skills (Felthan 2012). Good listening skills enable members of a given team to understand issues very quickly and seek clarification where necessary. Good listening skills empowers individual members of a team to contribute to discussions and present constructive questions targeted at enhancing the level of performance of the given team. Unlike team comprised of members with poor listening skills, teams with members of good listening skills will be able to reach to quick deliberations and save time as members have the capability to paraphrase and summarize concepts. However, fundamental inter-member understanding maybe to a team, disagreements and disputes are healthy for any growth oriented team (Yarbrough 2009, p.27). Not all members in a given team will feel satisfied with every presentation, proposal of discussion of the team. Such dissatisfactions have the potential of creating room for clarification and exemplification for every individual to understand the grounds and factors behind certain proposal or presentation. Members require tolerance to each other and show no signs of withdrawal from any fierce discussion triggered by misunderstanding by any given member. For a team to be effective and operate smoothly there has to be clear demarcation of roles and statement of duties and

How does Hamlet deal with the revengers r&amp Essay Example for Free

How does Hamlet deal with the revengers ramp Essay Revenge is defined as retaliation for an offence or injury; Hamlet has two main reasons for needing revenge, political and moral. Politically he has to kill Claudius for the offence of denying Hamlet, the heir to the Danish kingdom, his usurped crown. He also has a moral reason, as the son of a dear father murdered(II. ii. 581); he has a duty to extract revenge for the injury; and filially to protect his mother by ridding her of an incestuous and immoral marriage to a murderer. He has no doubt even to himself that he does have this dutiful role to perform, I know my course (II. ii. 596). To seek this revenge he would have to kill Claudius and his mother, for they are both guilty of having impure souls. But one of the very first internal conflicts Hamlet has is when the Ghost tells him nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven (I. iv. 85). This leaves him in great turmoil, as he can justify to himself the killing of Claudius, but not letting his mother live. He is so overcome with a sense of purity and morality, especially with concern to women, it does not seem right to him that something so tainted should be allowed to carry on in the world. He wants his perfect revenge, one that would satisfy his meticulously accomplished conscience, but he can not carry it out, so instead he declines it altogether, or at least puts it off in stages, until he can prove it to himself and can put it off no longer. He is willing to taint his own soul and so go to hell and enter a damnation possibly even worse than that in which the Ghost resides, which he tells Hamlet just to know about would, harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres, thy knotted and combini d locks to part, and each particular hair to stand on end like quills upon the fretful porpentine (I. iv. 16). Yet he is willing to suffer all this for the sake of revenge in killing Claudius, to avenge his father, so to save his mother, to leave her to heaven (I. v. 86), when even he is not allowed this blessing. What he is giving up to be the dutiful son and revenge his fathers murder in comparison to what Gertrude is giving up leaves his worse off than her, even though she has been an adulterous wife. Therefore her being allowed to live on in sin is as wrong not only on her part, but also on Hamlets for allowing it to be. Hamlet knows what he is sacrificing of himself, his immortal soul, if he is to take on the revengers ri le. It is a heavy burden to carry, and not one that he is willing to undertake lightly, so he wants to be absolutely certain of Claudius guilt before taking action. For as certain as he is of the course of action that must be taken, the truth of the Ghosts words must be ascertained, for when Hamlet converses with him he does not know for certain if it is a spirit of health or goblin damned, bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, be thy intents wicked or charitable (I. iv. 40). So to affirm the facts for himself, Hamlet has the players perform the play and watches for Claudiuss reaction to his own murderous and incestuous actions being acted out before him. For Hamlet this is supposed to be a resolution, a confirmation of his suspicions before he can act, a catalyst to spur him on depending on the success of his experiment. Hamlet becomes angry and disgusted with himself; he cant understand his own lack of passion, even after proving to himself that Claudius is guilty. He is very aware of himself not crying in the rehearsal of the play, when the players are moved to tears over the story of the rousid vengeance (II. ii. 486) of Pyrrhus, Priam and Hecuba. As soon as he is alone, he bursts out O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage waned, Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect. And all for nothing He feels miserable at his deficit, he is forced to compare himself and he comes of he worse. What would he do had he the motive and the cue for passion that I have? Make mad the guilty and appal the free. He again feels this lack of justified fervour when young Fortinbras goes to battle to fight and possibly to die for a land that is acknowledged to be not worth the sacrifice we go to gain a little patch of ground that hath in it no profit but the name (IV. iv. 18). This is again someone showing emotion and action when there is not as much reason to do so as there is for Hamlet. When he is alone he sees what Fortinbras has done as being honourable and a rebuke of his own inaction, whereas before when talking to Fortinbras captain, he had been cynical as to the actions they were carrying out. He analyses himself as thinking too precisely on thevent A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom and ever three parts coward (IV. iv. 41). He sees his need to think things through before acting as a deplorable weakness. Even he can see hat he is being weak minded and indecisive. But even when convinced he cant kill his uncle deliberately, in a rage he thinks he has killed him, but it was just Polonius. Having proved Claudius guilt, Hamlet now has to act, and yet does not act straight away, but postpones it, indicating that there are also other deeper subconscious reasons that could affect him. The death of his father at the beginning of the play and the hasty incestuous marriage of his mother upset him greatly and have led to his obsessions with death, decay, sin the body and its parts and with women, purity and the defiling of them. We can see this from speeches such as, O that this too too sullied flesh would melt Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His cannon gainst self-slaughter. (I. ii. 129) Frailty, thy name is woman. (I. ii. 146) For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion have you a daughter? (II. ii. 181) Or in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil in which Hamlet is clearly fixed on purity, women, death and suicide. Claudius being a murder and committing incest and yet still having the crown of Denmark and outwardly appearing to be just, honourable and a good leader (quote? ) could explain why Hamlet often confuses the order of society in his speeches. This can be seen when he calls himself a rogue and peasant slave (II. ii.547) when he clearly isnt, or when he calls himself unpregnant and likens himself to a whore in the same soliloquy, when he obviously is not. To Hamlet, Claudius is tainted and impure in mind and action, yet he is a good ruler of Denmark, a good king, and a good diplomat. He is efficient, confident, in control of affairs, in every way assured and poised. Hamlet identifies with Claudius in a way that restrains him from being able to kill him, hamlet has all the ability and the necessary desire, but Claudius has everything Hamlet wants, which leads to internal sub-conscious conflict on as well as his conscious conflicts. His mothers ability to alter the direction of her affection from one person to another so suddenly hurts Hamlet, as having to share her with his own father was difficult enough, but at least was understandable. He is now jealous that someone else holds such high regard in her affections but at the same time is disgusted with her for loving someone else. But as his jealousy is repressed, as he doesnt even admit to himself that he is jealous of his mothers lovers, all he feels is a deep sense of disgust towards Gertrude that helps him deal with his rejection. Hamlet could be suffering from the theory that Freud developed, the Oedipus theory. This states that as children, young boys feel great bitterness and resentment towards their fathers for making them share their mothers affections and for having sexual relations with their mothers which the young boys also desire, and so they view their fathers as rivals that they would rather have out of the way. These thoughts are repressed as a form of defence for fear that their fathers will realise what they are thinking. To compensate for this they resolve the complex by over identifying with their fathers and adopting many of their fathers attitudes. This could be used to explain Hamlets impediment and self-frustration towards his revenge. He tries to carry out the task, but he is held back in some way, because he cannot kill a person who he recognises as so like himself in what he wants to be like and wishes he could do. His desires towards his mother have been so long repressed that they are now repulsive to him, but yet her remarrying brings those thoughts to his attention. He sees someone taking the place of his father in her affections, the place that he has long coveted. The nature of this usurper, a relative, makes the link between the two even more incestuous in Hamlets mind and even more connected towards him. This, coupled with the fact that Claudius is able to gain his mothers affection by killing old Hamlet, ridding him, once again something that Hamlet has long wanted to do but repressed from himself, hinders Hamlet greatly from carrying out his revenge. When Hamlet discovers the identity of his fathers murderer his first instant reply is O my prophetic soul! My uncle? (I. v. 40). This does imply that unconsciously the idea had been in his mind and had suddenly been brought back to his awareness.

United Nations Millennium Goal Essay -- World Issues, Interventions

Target C of the seventh United Nations Millennium Development Goal is to ‘halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation’ (UN, 2000). With our current model of sanitation, the flush toilet, we are simply unable to provide sanitation to everyone as the flush toilets are grossly inefficient, requiring large amounts of water and sewer infrastructure to function, two things increasing hard to possess in the developing world (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2011). This lack of possession leads to defecation and urination into unsafe sources, such as nearby streams and rivers which also provide drinking water for these people. The unsafe urination and defecation increases the incidence of fecal-oral contamination and occurrences of other communicable diseases. It also forces the poor villagers to walk farther in search of uncontaminated water sources. Interventions and the redevelopment of the sanitation system can bring about many positive changes in developing countries where present knowledge and present development of sanitation is poor. Optimum benefit from water sanitation interventions can be achieved if the communities are made aware of the links between hygiene practices, poor sanitation, polluted water, and disease (UNHRC, 2011). The redevelopment of the sanitation system is essential for the third world countries; however, the global community must overcome challenges before implementation to ensure lasting success. The redevelopment of the sanitation system, particularly the reinvention of the toilet is an efficient and significant way of improving health and hygiene, and women’s education and personal safety. Currently, 40% of the world’s populati... ...blem of implementation by spending more money on education and actual procurement of the reinvented toilets rather than the administration. It is great to take the increased education of the developing country to our advantage by using the school children to spread the message about sanitation to their families and deep into their communities. School Environment and Sanitation and Rural India states that â€Å" The best way to break bad practices is to cultivate good practices and childhood is the best time for that as children are receptive to all influences† (Majra and Gur, 2010). From these two suggestions for implementation, it seems very logical that the global community should focus on providing access to proper sanitation facilities at schools and on providing water, hygiene, and environment education at primary schools to further spread the reinvented toilet.

History of chocolate Essay

-Chocolate is one of the oldest treats enjoyed by many people. I have loved chocolate ever since I was a little girl. I have enjoyed the different tastes, textures, and styles of it. I want to share with you the history of chocolate, types of chocolate, and some benefits from eating chocolate. Chocolate’s history started over 2,000 years ago. It began in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America from the seed of the cacao tree. This small tree grows best in the tropical atmosphere because it receives the best amount of rain, shade, humidity, wind, and nutrients. A. According to Susan J. Terrio, the author of Crafting the Culture and History of French Chocolate, the first people known to have made chocolate were the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America. These people, including the Maya and Aztec, mixed ground cacao seeds with various seasonings to make a spicy, frothy drink. This was the very first way that chocolate was consumed Chocolate played a special role in both Mayan and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cocoa beans as offerings to the gods and served cocoa drinks during sacred ceremonies. All of the areas that were conquered by the Aztecs that grew cocoa beans were ordered to pay them as a tax, or as the Aztecs called it, a â€Å"tribute†. [2] The Europeans sweetened and lightened the drink by adding refined sugar and milk, ingredients the people in Mesoamerica did not use. By contrast, Europeans never integrated it into their general diet, but compartmentalized its use for sweets and desserts. In the 19th century, Briton John Cadbury developed an emulsification process to make solid chocolate, creating the modern chocolate bar. For hundreds of years, the chocolate making process remained unchanged. When the Industrial Revolution arrived, many changes occurred that brought the hard, sweet candy to life. In the 18th century, mechanical mills were created that squeezed out cocoa butter, which in turn helped to create hard, durable chocolate. [3] But it was not until the arrival of the Industrial Revolution that these mills were put to bigger use. Not long after the revolution cooled down, companies began advertising this new invention to sell many of the chocolate treats seen today. [4] When new machines were produced, people began experiencing and consuming chocolate worldwide.

Beatniks: The New Ideology of Manifest Destiny and Freedom

The 1950s were a time of revitalization. They were a time of rebirth for the American people. World War II had ended and heralded the reinsertion and reintegration of thousands of service members into society. Working women who epitomized Rosie the Riveter and passed into the workforce along with their 12 million counterparts working when the US entered the war, saved the money they earned. Prior to the end of the war, there was not much to spend earned income on with the exception of war bonds. Afterwards, however, American industry expanded like never before. The buying power offered to Americans expanded, as well. Goods that were not available during the war became readily accessible. This increased the job market and stimulated the economy. Not only that, but the returning soldiers helped the US experience a population boom helping to facilitate a spike in consumerism. Veterans were starting families and were in need of housing which the Levitt family began and perfected, building housing areas called Levitt-towns. People were increasingly more materialistic—shopping for wants and not just needs. It was truly the Fabulous Fifties. Out of this time was born a generation of seeming radicals that fought against the agreed upon normalcy of the times. This ‘Beat Generation’ reimagined the ideals of Manifest Destiny and freedom because they wanted to be free to explore what was considered insanity by many but for them was artistic expression—a breaking free of conformist beliefs of the supposed American dream of materialism and gain. The Beat Generation or Beats, as they were sometimes called was a term coined by the author and member of this same generation Jack Kerouac during a conversation with fellow writer, John Clellon Holmes. He clarified his phrase by saying beat â€Å"meant being socially marginalized and exhausted—‘beaten down’—and blessed—‘beatific’ † (â€Å"Mid-1950s-1960s†, 2007). The term implied their generation was beaten down for their artistic nature and general deviance from mainstream behavior. Beatniks were labeled law breakers, troublemakers and rebel rousers and charged with being communists. In fact, in 1961 the director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover claimed that the beatnik lifestyle was in the top three major threats to American society and way of life. Kerouac and other founders of the generation took offense to this accusation. Their insistence was they merely wanted to be free to explore what may have been considered absurdity but really were searching for what they felt was missing in life. They were searching for a deeper meaning. They refused to be complacent just because the war had ended and the world was seemingly a better place. Things were not perfect just because the economy was on the rise. The war had not solved humanity’s problems and consumerism was just an empty shell for them. Therefore, this search for a higher self, took the form of experimentation. Many of the Beats were openly homosexual or bisexual and freely experimented with their sexual natures. They aligned themselves with the culture of jazz musicians and the music they made. Jazz music followed no preordained rules. There were no wrong notes no matter how raw. The more noisy and discordant, the better and more real—emotional—it sounded. The Beats raged in their literature and poetry, sounding much like discordant peals of music echoing from the saxophone of a jazz musician, against those who would suppress them. These feelings were elegantly detailed in the semi-mad ravings of Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl. Like Ginsberg, many wrote under the influence of drugs like Benzedrine and marijuana, experimenting with them in order to achieve a state of transcendentalism. Gregory Stephenson (2009) explains it thusly, â€Å"The poet, for a visionary instant, transcends the realm of the actual into the realm of the ideal, and then, unable to sustain the vision, returns to the realm of the actual. Afterwards the poet feels exiled from the eternal, the numinous, [and] the super conscious. The material world, the realm of the actual, seems empty and desolate. The desolation the Beats felt was born from the feeling of being out of sorts and disconnected with a world no longer theirs. This made them howl. They howled, they cried out, they wailed and fought against a forced subjugation. And thus, refusing to be subjugated, they were ostracized. Thereby, making them howl more and inspiring the title of Ginsberg’s poem. In analyzing the poem, it is clear Ginsberg wanted to accomplish two things. First, he wanted to exact an unmistakable and distinct delineation between those who fall under the Beatnik category and those they feel are the conformists of their time. Secondly, he made it known that this was their declaration, it was their manifesto of freedom. â€Å"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angel headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of nigh, who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyes and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1955). The material world Stephenson speaks of and the fix Ginsberg speaks of correlates to the Beats movement centered on a lifestyle of a total rejection of this mainstream idea that one and one must always equal two, one must always know when the right time is to settle down, what constitutes a productive member of society, a person must write and speak in formalities, have a certain religion, wear what is acceptable and love who is acceptable in order to be accepted into society. They used alcohol and drugs to feel and then proceeded to write down what they felt, even if it was not in a formal order that made sense. Therefore, â€Å"the academic community derided the Beats as anti-intellectual and unrefined†¦Established poets and novelists looked down upon the freewheeling abandon of Beat literature† (â€Å"The Beat Generation†, 2013). Furthermore, this ‘freewheeling abandon’ applied to more than just the literature of the Beat movement, it applied to their psychical bodies, as well. American history was based on an idea of expansion, evidenced by a phrase coined in 1845 by editor, John O’Sullivan, called â€Å"Manifest Destiny†. Those that settled in the newly founded America believed â€Å"courageous pioneers†¦had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"Manifest Destiny†, 2013). And yet in the 1950s these ideals America was founded on came to a screeching halt despite the mass production and affordability of automobiles and the interconnectedness of cities by highways. People became complacent and began to settle down in Post-World War II newly built homes in newly generated housing areas. The word of that era was conformity. The houses were all built to a certain style; the yards were groomed in the same way; the people behaved in a manner as what was expected of them. The idea of buying a home and being stationary represented a large section of what the Beat Generation saw as conforming to a capitalist and consumer-based lifestyle. The Beats advocated a hobo type of lifestyle, rather than one weighed down by physical possessions. â€Å"These men†¦were attempting to escape what were perceived as the restrictive shackles of the nuclear family but†¦rejected the trappings of a settled bourgeois lifestyle and were geographically mobile† (McDowell, 1996). So the romanticism surrounding Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical book On the Road, which spoke to those in this generation and wanting to relate or understand them, also became the definition of the ideology of the Beat Generation. An ideology which said ‘Life should be actively lived and you must make of it what you want, not what others tell you to want to make out of it’. It was about â€Å"†¦grabbing and doing it. It was about not wanting to stay somewhere and rooting, but rather going somewhere and making your own reality† (â€Å"American Road†, 2011). Kerouac epitomized this in his book: â€Å"†¦I left with my canvas bag in which a few fundamental things were packed and took off for the Pacific Ocean with the fifty dollars in my pocket. I’d been poring over maps of the United States in Paterson for months, even reading books about the pioneers and savoring names like Platte and Cimarron and so on, and the road-map was one long red line called Route 6†¦I’ll just stay on 6†¦I said to myself and confidently started†¦Filled with dreams of what I’d do in Chicago, in Denver, and then finally in San Fran,†¦I started hitching up the thing† (Kerouac, 1957). He wondered and daydreamed about what he would do in those cities, but knew what he did not want to do. Kerouac’s character, Sal, did not want to miss out on anything by becoming deadened, which is silently implied, had he joined the rat race and gotten a job. It was wasted energy. He â€Å"hated the thought of it†¦There were so many other interesting things to do [and meet]† (Kerouac, 1957). The ideals incarnate in his book through his characters were an open and honest free love of people, an enjoyment of the experiences that were happening in the now, and a meeting of the minds of ll types and races of people. They were colorblind. And this was also new in a time when people who were different were excluded or called communists. In a time when Joseph McCarthy was initiating a ‘Red Scare’ and accusing citizens of being communists and Hoover’s G-Men were illegally wire-tapping politicians and regular citizens alike, people had become overly sus picious of everyone. People were anxious to show militarism and an acquiescence to conform to what was inherently American. Yet, in spite of this, Beatniks marched to their own poetry and beliefs. Ginsberg howled and Kerouac left on a holy trek to find a true inner consciousness, laden with real freedom and genuine spontaneity. Several times, Sal’s character considered traveling elsewhere instead of his intended destination for no other reason than to see where the roads would take him or what or who would lie in that particular direction. Though most, if not all, those in this beat generation originally came from a middle class background, they rejected it as being conformists and closed minded. â€Å"Conformity [to them] was born from fear of the political system† (â€Å"American Road†, 2011). They were not afraid though they felt this overt obsession with conforming to an evil government and material possessions was killing the spirit and creativity found within. This idea was further cemented by Ginsberg statement of the best minds of his generation being destroyed. In the second part of Howl, Ginsberg continually mentions the name or entity â€Å"Moloch† and in the context he uses it, one can ascribe a negative connotation to it: â€Å"What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination? Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars†¦Moloch the heavy judger of men! Moloch the incomprehensible prison! Moloch the crossbone soulless jailhouse and Congress of sorrows! Moloch whose buildings are judgment! Moloch the cast stone of war! Moloch the stunned governments† (Ginsberg, 1957)! This entity â€Å"Moloch† no doubt represents all the things in American society considered to be the norm, but for the Beat Generation is stifling and oppressive. Cement and aluminum were the utensils builders used to build homes like Levitt-towns and universities that inhibited free thinking and self-expression. He mentions unobtainable dollars because the pursuit of money and material possessions was a fleeting happiness. Once possessed, it is no longer desired. And everywhere they turned there was heavy judgment, except from their own kind. The publishing and almost instant success of Jack Kerouac’s book, On the Road, as well as the publishing of other Beat writers, like Allen Ginsberg, marked the beginnings of an evolutionary change. The Beat Generation became a subculture that truly impacted America. Men and women—teenagers and young adults, were finding themselves increasingly disillusioned by a lifestyle that was centered on home and work. People were taking a page from Kerouac’s life and hitting the road on a journey to find themselves and what meaning life really had for them. They were taking verses from Ginsberg’s manifesto and â€Å"†¦bit[ing] detectives in the neck and shrieked with delight in policecars for committing no crime but their own wild cooking pederasty and intoxication†¦ (1957). Indeed, the Fabulous 50s brought with it trials and tribulations, materialism and consumerism, and in general, the earmarks of an American social way of being that is still prevalent today. But within that culture, a counterculture was also born whose inhabitants were not satisfied with the world as it was. They were not satisfied with what the world wanted to turn them into. They wante d to march to the beat of their own drum; to experience what was out there in the world and truly be liberated. Born of this desire was the Beat Generation, the forebears of the hippies of the 1960s. They advocated a freedom and liberation of minds and bodies. They wanted to be liberated of all censor. They wanted the freedom to love hard and fast, to travel at will and forsake the idea that in order to be truly happy one had to engage in a rat race of empty labor for money and material possessions. The Beatniks reinforced and reimagined the ideals of Manifest Destiny and chose to manifest their destiny of finding the freedom to be themselves and love it despite opposition. References Films Media Group (2011). American Road [H.264]. Retrieved from http://digital.film-s.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18596&xtid=48260 Ginsberg, A. (1955-1956). Howl. Collected Poems, 1947-1980. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179381 McDowell, L. (1996). Off the Road: Alternate Views of Rebellion, Resistance and ‘The Beats’. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/622491 Stephenson, G. (2009). Daybreak Boys: Essays on the Literature of the Beat Generation.

The Origin of the Modern Calendar in Ancient Egypt

The Origin of the Modern Calendar in Ancient Egypt The way in which we divide the day into hours and minutes, as well as the structure and length of the yearly calendar, owes much to pioneering developments in ancient Egypt. Since Egyptian life and agriculture depended upon the annual flooding of the Nile, it was important to determine when such floods would begin. The early Egyptians noted that the beginning of akhet (inundation) occurred at the heliacal rising of a star they called Serpet (Sirius). It has been calculated that this sidereal year was only 12 minutes longer than the mean tropical year which influenced the flooding, and this produced a difference of only 25 days over the whole of Ancient Egypts recorded history. 3 Egyptian Calendars Ancient Egypt was run according to three different calendars. The first was a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months, each of which began on the first day in which the old moon crescent was no longer visible in the East at dawn. (This is most unusual since other civilizations of that era are known to have started months with the first setting of the new crescent!) A thirteenth month was intercalated to maintain a link to the heliacal rising of Serpet. This calendar was used for religious festivals. The second calendar, used for administrative purposes, was based on the observation that there was usually 365 days between the heliacal rising of Serpet. This civil calendar was split into twelve months of 30 days with an additional five epagomenal days attached at the end of the year. These additional five days were considered to be unlucky. Although there is no firm archaeological evidence, a detailed back calculation suggests that the Egyptian civil calendar dates back to circa 2900 BCE. This 365-day calendar is also known as a wandering calendar, from the Latin name annus vagus since it slowly gets out of synchronization with the solar year. (Other wandering calendars include the Islamic year.) A third calendar, which dates back at least to the 4th century BCE was used to match the lunar cycle to the civil year. It was based on a period of 25 civil years which was approximately equal 309 lunar months. The Leap Year in Ancient Egypt An attempt to reform the calendar to include a leap year was made at the beginning of the Ptolemaic dynasty (Decree of Canopus, 239 BCE), but the priesthood was too conservative to allow such a change. This pre-dates the Julian reform of 46 BCE which Julius Caesar introduced on the advice of the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenese. Reform did, however, come after the defeat of Cleopatra and Anthony by the Roman General (and soon to be Emperor) Augustus in 31 BCE. In the following year, the Roman senate decreed that the Egyptian calendar should include a leap year, although the actual change to the calendar didnt occur until 23 BCE. Months, Weeks, and Decades The months of the Egyptian civil calendar were further divided into three sections called decades, each of 10 days. The Egyptians noted that the heliacal rising of certain stars, such as Sirius and Orion, matched the first day of the 36 successive decades and called these stars decans. During any one night, a sequence of 12 decans would be seen to rise and was used to count the hours. (This division of the night sky, later adjusted to account for the epagomenal days, had close parallels to the Babylonian zodiac. The signs of the zodiac each accounting for three of the decans. This astrological device was exported to India and then to Medieval Europe via Islam.) Egyptian Clock Time Early man divided the day into temporal hours whose length depended upon the time of year. A summer hour, with the longer period of daylight, would be longer than that of a winter day. It was the Egyptians who first divided the day (and night) into 24 temporal hours. The Egyptians measured time during the day using shadow clocks, precursors to the more recognizable sun dials seen today. Records suggest that early shadow clocks were based on the shadow from a bar crossing four marks, representing hourly periods starting two hours into the day. At midday, when the sun was at its highest, the shadow clock would be reversed and hours counted down to dusk. An improved version using a rod (or gnomon) and which indicates the time according to the length and position of the shadow has survived from the second millennia BCE. Problems with observing the sun and stars may have been the reason the Egyptians invented the water clock, or clepsydra (meaning water thief in Greek). The earliest remaining example survives from the Temple of Karnak is dated to the 15th century BCE. Water drips through a small hole in one container to a lower one. Marks on either container can be used to give a record of hours passed. Some Egyptian clepsydras have several sets of marks to be used at different times of the year, to maintain consistency with the seasonal temporal hours. The design of the clepsydra was later adapted and improved by the Greeks. The Influence of Astronomy on Minutes and Hours As a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, a great wealth of knowledge of astronomy was exported from Babylon into India, Persia, the Mediterranean, and Egypt. The great city of Alexandria with its impressive Library, both founded by the Greek-Macedonian family of Ptolemy, served as an academic center. Temporal hours were of little use to astronomers, and around 127 CE Hipparchus of Nicea, working in the great city of Alexandria, proposed dividing the day into 24 equinoctial hours. These equinoctial hours, so called because they are based on the equal length of day and night at the equinox, split the day into equal periods. (Despite his conceptual advance, ordinary people continued to use temporal hours for well over a thousand years: the conversion to equinoctial hours in Europe was made when mechanical, weight driven clocks were developed in the 14th century.) The division of time was further refined by another Alexandrian based philosopher, Claudius Ptolemeus, who divided the equinoctial hour into 60 minutes, inspired by the scale of measurement used in ancient Babylon. Claudius Ptolemaeus also compiled a great catalog of over one thousand stars, in 48 constellations and recorded his concept that the universe revolved around the Earth. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, it was translated into Arabic (in 827 CE) and later into Latin (in the 12th century CE). These star tables provided the astronomical data used by Gregory XIII for his reform of the Julian calendar in 1582. Sources Richards, EG. Mapping Time: The Calendar and its History. Oxford University Press, 1998.General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa. James Curry Ltd., University of California Press, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1990.

Bank of America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bank of America - Research Paper Example It trades across various asset categories to companies, governments, organizations, and people in the globe and it company more than 150 countries of the globe. This essay seeks to analyze the talent management program that leads to the organizations success, the strengths of the program. It will analyze how they lead to achievement and opportunities for improvement. In addition, the essay will also create two effective approaches to meet the talent management challenges in the future. The talent management program used for the bank’s success was the use executive on-boarding approach. The bank accommodates international and local executives every year. This program is designed to help new executives learn to be facile in navigating the bank’s large matrixes organization. It also helps them in building and leveraging networks of relationships for career success and implementing the company initiatives. The bank utilized a multifaceted approach to establish at the execut ive level and the managements support to the development program of leadership. The development of the bank leadership executive activities include management, selection, on-boarding, performance, executive talent upgrading process, process of experiences development and compensation. The organizations culture promoted by Lewis encourages conduct, trust, teamwork, and accountability at all management levels. The company deeply emphasizes individual performance and believes that today’s performer is not necessarily tomorrow’s performer. To develop an effective on-board program, the firm has created a program that is categorized in to four phases, which includes the selection phase of the program. The company does not only use expertise and experience to select executives but also leadership ability and cultural fit. An executive lacking leadership and interpersonal skills as well as cultural sensitivity is perceived to cause derailments, (Bank of America, 1994). To elim inate this, the company uses partnerships with executive search firms to get the ideal candidates for the positions. The people in the recruitment position must have an understanding of culture and leadership requirement of the bank when called upon to do an executive level research. Job design is also another consideration made in the selection phase, whereby the stakeholders are given clear job specifications before they are given a mandate to conduct the executive research. This allows the hiring executive not to make a blind selection of the new employees. Additionally, the LD partner is vital to the selection phase as he serves as the main talent officer in the process of recruiting and on-boarding. This individual usually has between ten to fifteen years of experience and with a leadership or organizational development background. This experience gives them an increased level of credibility in the eyes of the executive and the stakeholders. After executives have been selected, this is the entry phase and the most critical weeks on a job are the initial weeks on hiring. The new executive is expected to accomplish dour vital outcomes; develop business acumen, learn organizational culture, master the roles of leadership demands and build critical organization relationships. The new executive must be able to learn customer and financial information in regards to his/her new roles. He /he must also set realistic goals

The Indain And The Horse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Indain And The Horse - Essay Example The arrival of Europeans greatly impacted the native societies and cultures and brought about a sea change in their lifestyles. Along with slavery, cultural intolerance, fatal diseases and inhuman practices, the Europeans and Spaniards introduced the horse to these Native Americans. Mexico was the primary source of horses' for North America as were the populations of southeastern USA. Although the modern variety of horses had originally evolved in America three million years ago, they had been wiped out during the Ice Age along with many other species when there had been a drastic change in North American habitat. Hunting by paleo-Indians also contributed to their extinction. Colonial Spanish Horses (as they came to be called), were brought to America by Spanish Conquistadors and hold immense significance in the history of the New World and the cultural revolution that took place following European colonization. "The horse returned to North America when explorers Cortes and DeSoto came mounted on magnificent Barbs from Morocco, Sorraia from Portugal and Andalusians from Spain" (History 1492-1620 The Spanish Colonial Period).To start with, these horses were a source of strength for the Spaniards and facilitated conquer of many a native civilization (D. Phillip Sponenberg). The natives were not accustomed to such large animals and were initially terrified; moreover, the Spanish government policy forbade native Indians to own or use horses. Many natives had their first encounter with these animals as slaves and workers on Spanish ranchos where they eventually got acquainted and learnt how to train, use and control them (History 1620-1800 The Indian Horse Pe riod). Many North American Indians acquired and learnt horse riding and handling from Indians from the southwest through trade relations. In the late seventeenth century, the Pueblo Rebellion caused the Spanish to flee New Mexico and leaving many of their horses behind which turned out to be very advantageous for the Pueblo Indians (History 1620-1800 The Indian Horse Period). The Ute Indians the Comanche were inter-related and the later probably supplied the former with their horses. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Comanche had earned a notorious reputation among the Spanish in New Mexico because of their horse stealing raids on Spanish rancheros. The Comanche allowed the Spanish stay in Texas to help them raise horses (Eddins, Ned). "The Comanche became the epitome of the Plains Indian Horse Culture. There was a saying in Texas that "The white man will ride the Mustang until he is played out - the Mexican will take him and ride him another day until he thinks he is tired - the Comanche will get on him and ride him to where he is going" (Frank Dobie). Within a few decades after acquiring horses, many military leaders considered the Comanche as the finest light cavalry in the world" (Eddins, Ned). Comanche warriors mediated the horse trade between Indian tribes and French settlements east of the Mississippi in a major way. In this way, horse trade eventually spread out of the southwest towards north to the Shoshone and from them to the Nez Perce, Flatheads, and the Crow; north and east to the Kiowa and Pawnee and then to the cousins of the Pawnee, the Arikara (Eddins, Ned). Indians not only acquired horses from the Spanish, the warriors emulated the Spanish in terms of handling, riding, and use of equipment. From the Arikara, the