Autobiographical Piece †My Working Life Essay

I got my first paid job when I was about twelve. I delivered a free paper with a friend, I would do about 400 papers for about seven pounds each, and it had to be done between Thursday and Saturday. Me and Cameron got really close during this as we would talk the whole time about things and become better friends then before. Although the pay wasn’t brilliant for a twelve year old it was really good, most of it went on pokemon cards and stickers, I remember selling my pokemon cards and made a big profit, selling eight cards for ninety pounds with my friends. I did my round with Cameron for about a few months before I got my own round, and did it for about six pounds for just fewer than two hundred papers. I always remember working really hard to get the papers done, occasionally I would do them on Sunday’s which was out of the boundaries but the supervisor never checked so it didn’t matter, I was earning a lot of money which just went on Nintendo games at this point as I had just started my teens. As the months went buy I started to get a bit bored with the round, walkman’s and CD players were getting a bit boring now and couldn’t make the round fun, so I took another round and shared them with Goran, another friend, I became closer to him as we did the round and we then became really good friends. Goran and myself worked hard to deliver all the papers and would spend a few hours a week doing them, for a good few months, then I started to get even more bored with delivering the damn papers that no one read, he left the round, so I kept both, and started putting about half the round under people’s recycle bins. It was actually really clever, I would put the papers in bins where there were other papers the owners had put down to cover them, they would get recycled saving people money and I would be gone just long enough for my mum to think I had actually delivered the round. After a few weeks the ‘dumping’ escalated to a level where I would not deliver any papers sit outside for three quarters of an hour or so (about an hour less then it would take me) reading a book or listening to music. I would try and ‘do’ the round while my mum was out so that I wouldn’t have to bother hanging around outside I could just go straight back home after leaving them in an alley somewhere. I was earning fourteen pounds for about five minutes work, which I thought was the bees knees and so did my friends. I did this for at least six months, until there was knock on the door, when I opened it the paper round supervisor was there staring angrily his car filled with thousands of dirty papers behind him, he said give me the trolley and the bag, you dumped papers, silently I did so, he asked to see my Mum, she was upstairs, but I said she was out, so he turned and left. I was gutted, a bit guilty but a bit pissed off my brilliant money making scheme was over. I decided to be unemployed for a while I was about fourteen and had been working for nearly about two years, so I took a few months off, but then I took up a morning paper round which earned me fifteen pounds, I had to do it every morning about 8am, I got progressively later and later as the round irritated me further, I moved to a larger round which earned me twenty pounds, which was more papers and took longer, after a few months it really started to hurt my back and the early mornings were getting me down, I had stashed away a bit of money so left the round. I did my work experience in early summer of 2002 at the Slough/Windsor Marriott, it took me about an hour to get t here, and I got lost on the first day so was about an hour late, luckily the people there were quite relaxed and didn’t mind, for the first three days I worked in conference and banqueting, which basically involved setting up and cleaning conference rooms, and serving coffee and tea to people in the main conference room. This wasn’t exactly riveting, but for the first time I was actually working with people and the people were so nice that it was impossible not to have fun and enjoy myself. For the other days I worked at the leisure centre reception. I would deal with minor customer problems, clean the exercise machines, the bar in the pool, check toilets are not too dirty, close lockers, fill soap and shampoo pots and the like. I would sign members in and out and take phone calls. They taught me these skills, and were helpful. Like in conference and banqueting, the people at the Leisure Centre were really nice and relaxed and would joke around a lot and made the day fun and not seem much of a chore. Working at The Marriott gave me a really good experience of working, and they did give me a leaving present when I did leave, albeit I was thrown into the pool as my present, it was all good fun. After I left the Marriott I resumed a morning paper round, this time from a different closer shop with a nicer owner who was a bit more lenient, I did this round for a few months, until the shop closed down but another took shop took the round so I left for them and got a slight raise to twenty two pounds. I quit the round in early summer, and took a job in a travel agent delivering leaflets for 3 pounds an hour, I soon quit and got a job in a butchers. It was not difficult to get my job at the butchers, I saw a sign advertising in the window, I went in, said is the job still available, and got it, with the only questions asked being can you work Thursday, Friday, Saturday and can you start this Thursday, oh and what’s your name, I barely remembered to ask the wage, which was thirty five pounds a week for around nine hours, which wasn’t too bad I thought. I don’t really remember the first month or so of my work except it was quite hard work and I used to not come in at least one day a week, and they made jokes out of it, and made lots of jokes about everything which made a nice working atmosphere. I remember my excuses running out for why I was taking days off, but after a month or two I really started to enjoy working there. I sort of clicked with two of the butchers sense of humour and we had a really good laugh, they would give me more responsibility although I wasn’t allowed to cut meat I would prepare kebabs, burgers, cooked foods, and make shop look tidy as well as wash up and do general cleaning. The shop sold all sorts and was a delicatessen as well as butchers, and I would get a large discount there and the produce was of very high quality, which pleased my Mum obviously. I started to enjoy working at the butchers, I would work four or five days a week, earning around one hundred pounds regularly, I would meet with the owner of the chain and go to the bank to pick up money for the tills, and got to know some of the customers. The butchers and me would have great fun joking around and insulting the other butcher who no one liked. I had many barbecues with my friends with the stuff I got from there, but after six months I moved house and the butchers was just too far away especially with the beginning of college, and so I left as I started college. I go back and visit the butchers occasionally and they still give me discount and lots of free things, and we still laugh and have a good time. We got discount from our local fruit and veg shop too because the fruit and veg people did at the butchers. I would advise you to go to work at some time in your young life, try and get a job with people and make sure the people are nice and are quite lenient with the hours and you should have a great time.

Compare the ways ‘Old Man, Old Man’ and ‘Warning’ Deal with the theme of old age Essay

The U.A. Fanthorpe poem, ‘Old Man, Old Man’ and J Joseph’s ‘Warning’, deal with the theme of old age in very contrasting ways. Both deal with similar issues, yet come out with very different views. The first thing we see in both poems is the immediate tone portrayed. ‘Old Man, Old Man’, starts talking of someone who â€Å"lives in a world of small recalcitrant / Things in bottles, with tacky labels†, while ‘Warning’ begins with the colourful image that â€Å"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple / With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me†. Purple and red tend to suggest a vivid and lurid tone, and the immediate contrast between the two sets the character in â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† as being reclusive and isolated, living in his own confined world, while in â€Å"Warning† we see the author looking forward to old age, seeing it a time for enjoyment of life. â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† continues to explain to the reader how old age brings deterioration and isolation to people, talking of how â€Å"small things distress† and having his hands â€Å"shamble among clues†, implying that old age brings more constraint and misery to a person, while we see that in ‘Warning’ the coming of old age will give the author an excuse to break society’s constraints, such as dressing strangely and wasting money on â€Å"brandy and summer gloves†¦and say we’ve no money for butter†. A strong sense of bitterness and melancholy is created in ‘Old Man, Old Man’ as the author describes a regimented, authoritarian past world, which has gradually worsened into a narrow, emotionless one. The man is seen to be upset by small incidents, have a deteriorating sense of humour and vision, and, despite his age, is still attempting to impose order on his world with his â€Å"timetabled cigarette†. The man’s previous interests are belittled by using sarcastic phrases such as â€Å"Lord once of shed, garage and garden†, showing us that this man used to only be able to control his environment, and now he has â€Å"lost the hammer†, he cannot even do this. The traditional view of eccentricity is portrayed in both poems, however, Joseph also adds an element of freedom, showing her rebellion against taste and sobriety. Her excitement is shown in the language with the excessive use of the word â€Å"and† as well as the enjamberment, which stress the enthusiasm she has, and showing her to be breaking free of the rules of language in the same way she will break free from the rules of society. Further rebellion is shown as she talks of running her â€Å"stick along the public railings† and â€Å"learn to spit†. Sprawling sentences such as â€Å"You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat / And eat three pounds of sausages at a go† portray her excitement, as well as anticipation. Use of words such as â€Å"I†, and â€Å"shall† give a sense of force and individuality. Both poems have a similar structure, as they move from past to present in their tense. In â€Å"Old Man, Old Man†, we see a move to the present as Fanthorpe writes â€Å"Now television has no power to arouse – / Your surliness; your wife could replace on the walls / Those picture of disinherited children†. This not only suggests the man has rage pent up inside, but also poses the question as to why the children have been disinherited their father’s love. The description continues as Fanthorpe says â€Å"Now you ramble / In your talk†¦fretting / At how to find your way†. We see here that the man is slipping into a loss of control, and a change of personality. In contrast to this, we see â€Å"Warning† describing a present of constraints while she remains in the â€Å"sobriety of†¦youth†. Joseph describes to us the way in which â€Å"Now we must have clothes that keep us dry / And pay our rent and not swear in the street†. The word â€Å"must† shows a lack of freedom and constraint in present existence. This verse is designed as a contrast to the previous verse, which had concentrated on the promises of old age. A sense of restraint is portrayed as Joseph lists all the constraints she has in her life. While ‘Old Man, Old Man’ had showed a deterioration from a more happy existence to a worthless one, ‘Warning’ tends to show one that has begun with constraint and will end with happiness and freedom. In the final verses of ‘Old Man, Old Man’, we see a turning points, where the daughter (and author) intervenes, showing that he has literally and metaphorically lost his way in the world with the phrase â€Å"Where is Drury Lane?† In the final verse, we see a slight raise of the grim tone, as we can see Fanthorpe prefers her father in this softer, less threatening manner, as the two have become more equal in terms of power. This is shown with the phrase â€Å"I love / Your helplessness† and â€Å"Let me find your hammer. Let me / Walk with you to Drury Lane†. This marks a point in the poem where the theme is now the relationship with the daughter and father rather than just the father. In a similar way, ‘Warning’ changes in it’s theme towards the end, but not for the same tone. We see in the final verse Joseph’s confidence wane slightly, as she says â€Å"Maybe I out to practise a little now†¦So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised / When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple†. This provides a relatively quiet ending, almost an anticlimax, to a colourful, liberated poem, as the tone becomes more restrained and the drive of her dream starts to lose pace. Circularity is also shown as the first and last lines of the poem both talk of wearing purple. In conclusion, both poems take different views in addressing old age, and even though some elements in structure are similar, both contain inherently different views, as â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† is a melancholy remainder of the deterioration the old go through, while â€Å"Warning† shows a more bright outlook, explaining the opportunities and liberation that will follow with the coming of old age. This may be to do with the fact that in â€Å"Old Man, Old Man†, Fanthorpe describes what she has previously seen, while in â€Å"Warning† Joseph is merely hypothesising what life may be like in the future.

Accounting and financial management 4 Topics Assignment

Accounting and financial management 4 Topics - Assignment Example Financial distress is a state whereby a company is not able to meet the agreements it had with its creditors it normally results to a company being termed as bankrupt. Cost associated with financial distress are normally termed as costs of financial distress. Some of the costs of financial distress are classified into direct and indirect. Direct cost include; legal fees, auditors fees, management fees. Some of the indirect costs involved are, loss of goodwill, loss of trust by creditors, loss of customers. Method 2: the second method is used only when the risk imposed on a company remains the same as a result of its capital structure, the company is ready to incur as much debt as possible. The main aim of this method is to identify the level of debt at which the advantages of increased debt are not outweighed by the increase in risk that are financially distressed company is subjected to. It is also known as the intuitive view. The theory indicates that a firm should have as ideal level of gearing at which its WACC is minimized. Nevertheless this theory does not indicate where the ideal level is and this leaves trial and error as the sole method of finding it. When gearing levels are low shareholders regard risk increases as marginal. This results to cheapness of debt issues and this causes WACC to be lower. When gearing ratios are higher the volatility of shareholders returns increase. Dominance in cheapness of extra debt results in WACC increasing as the levels of gearing increases. In the case when the levels of gearing have escalated abnormally both equity and debt holders face a risk of bankruptcy as a result the cost of equity and the cost of debt rise with increased gearing and this therefore causes WACC to rise further They disregarded the capital structure which was irrelevant in determining the cost of capital. They argued that a firm have no optimal value and its value is determined by the business risk it

The use of drones in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The use of drones in the United States - Essay Example However, there is a lot of debate that have been sparked on the legality, efficacy and morality of this practice, even though, capable drones have versatile uses. In the current times, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was ordered by the Obama’s administration to come up with a plan in order to permit unarmed drones within the United States airspace. Such a decision was as a result of the tremendous demand arising from different stakeholders such as Border Patrol, police, agencies, organizations and businesses in their quest to use them in future. This paper addresses the pros and cons of the legalization of drones for commercial use by companies/organizations in the United States. The pros of the use of drones in the United States by border patrol police, agencies, organizations, and businesses. Drones can be used to save lives. These devices can be used to reduce significantly the frequency and exposure of military personnel during war. Another benefit of drones is the low cost. These devices are affordable when purchasing and the costs incurred in maintaining or fueling them are significantly lower compared to ordinary and regular airplanes. Needless to say, there is low risk involved as a result of military hardware since these devices are comparatively smaller and can, therefore, fly at lower altitudes as opposed to the traditional airplanes. There is the benefit of comparatively longer operational hours without any fatigue. This is because drones do not have human pilots and can, therefore, stay in operation for a long time.

Genetic Analytical Report. exmamine the postive & negative effects of Essay

Genetic Analytical Report. exmamine the postive & negative effects of providing patrents with information - Essay Example Awareness of the genetic predisposition to diseases will trigger the notion of taking pro-active measures to ensure health safety in the public. Cooperation and encouragement of the government of Australia are some of the most fundamental requirements of this notion. This research report will generate useful information for a common man as well as for the government of Australia to some extent who will be able to use this information to make informed decisions while making the policies regarding the promotion or restriction of disclosing the genetic predisposition to diseases to people. Researchers hold the consensus that human genetic predisposition is the cause of most chronic diseases. In a vast majority of cases, it takes more than a single defective gene to cause the disease. Nevertheless, this remains a fact that genetic component is the most fundamental causal factor in a lot of common diseases experienced in adulthood including schizophrenia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and several congenital malformations that include but are not limited to neural tube defects, cleft lip, and cleft palate. This has conventionally generated a consensus among the doctors that many individual genes play a little yet considerable role in predisposing a person to a particular condition of genetics. Despite that, identifying the genes causing a particular disease is a very cumbersome target to achieve. In order to determine and sequence such a gene, it is imperative that the scientists are able to tell a gene that is equipped with the predisposing power for a specific disorder from the others. This raises a question for the scientists whether going through such a tough process is worth it when the information has mixed effects on the life of the individual whose genes are being assessed. Telling an individual that he/she carries a certain gene that caused an awful disease in his/her parents can be very overwhelming and stressful for the individual. On the other hand, kn owledge of the existence of a dangerous gene and the likelihood of acquiring the disease in the future gets very alarming for the individual and he/she is able to take preventive measures in time. Thus, informing the individuals about their genetic predisposition to diseases has both positive and negative outcomes. This research paper is directed at identifying the potential pros and cons of letting the people know their genetic predisposition to diseases. 1.1   Background and recent findings   In order to perceive the way of portrayal of genetics and the scientists’ role in it, popular media has been studied a number of times by different researchers (Condit, Ofulue, & Sheedy 1998; Henderson and Kitzinger 1999, Conrad 2001, Petersen 2001, and Bubela & Caulfield 2004). Other researchers have conducted in-depth analysis of the published editorials and journal articles with a view to examining the way developments in genetics have conventionally been recorded by the clinici ans and past researchers and what role they have played in advancing the field of genetics (Cunningham-Burley & Amos 1999). Editorials are one of the most fundamental sources of information about the portrayal of genetics. â€Å"Published in peer-reviewed journals, editorials allow leaders of the research and clinical communities to provide commentary on developments in science and clinical practice†

Ammonia Stripping vs Ion Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ammonia Stripping vs Ion Exchange - Essay Example It is recovered as a gas by raising pH of water with alkaline addition such as caustic or lime (EPA 1). The procedure is enhanced by increasing the operating temperature of tower (Henze and van Loosdrecht 140). Two types of towers are used in ammonia stripping i.e. cross flow and counter current. A cross flow tower permits the solvent gas (air) into total depth of fill and flows through the packing as the alkaline waste water flows downward. On the other hand, in a counter current tower, air enters through openings at the bottom as waste water is propelled to the top of packed tower. Free NH3 is converted into air stream from falling water and discharged into atmosphere (EPA 1) Advantages and disadvantages of ammonia stripping: It is a simple mechanical process which is not affected by waste water fluctuations and is not disrupted by presence of toxic substances given the air temperature and pH remains stable. It creates no back wash or regenerations. On the other hand, ammonia strip ping has several disadvantages which include higher maintenance costs and power requirement for pumping. It does not remove nitrite or organic nitrogen. Air pollution problems may occur due to NH3 reaction and high pH may corrode the wood of stripping tower (EPA 2).

Propose system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Propose system - Essay Example I would ensure that a constitutional democracy is set up consisting of three-tier system of government similar to that of the United States. However, I shall make some changes in the judicial system that will have to be autonomous and publicly elected by the people to ensure impartiality in the delivery of services. Consequently, in order to reduce the workload in courts, I would establish two independent courts: the constitutional court and the Supreme Court operating independent of each other. In this case, the Constitutional court will only be concerned with cases pertaining to constitutional matters while the Supreme Court will serve as the highest court dealing with appeals independent of constitutional matters. For lawmakers, I would create a Congress house made up of several representatives to serve the interest of everyone from provices. However, I will ensure that the representation is distributed in accordance with the population of the provinces. This implies that provinces with few people will have low representation. The population density will be determined using census report, which will be conducted within a span of 10 years, (Bardes, Shelley, and Schmidt, 2008). Like the federal system, the party with the majority of congress representatives will establish the government of the day, elect its president, and the vice president. I will also make sure that there is a national Council of Religion similar to the U.S. Senate where each religious faction is given equal representation as noted by Wood (2002). This will certainly help reduce any conflict that may result if the distribution is not equitably allocated. I will also ensure that there is the executive branch that controls the religious council, the power, which I will vest upon the vice president. The political parties will play a major role in ensuring that bills are passed by the Council and

International Accounting Standard Individual Assignement Essay

International Accounting Standard Individual Assignement - Essay Example "Most other efforts to bring clean water to the underserved citizens had relied on volunteerism and had ultimately failed. Those efforts were not market-based and proved to be unsustainable" Kaputt said. MIBW4A established a strong and mutually profitable partnership with the water vendors to help in the distribution of low salt level drinking water to the consumers (Salzman, 2012, p.5). Profitability: To create a sustainable business enterprise with a potential of generating revues excess of the operational costs, and be able to finance future growth. In addition, the company aims at establishing itself by developing quality brands, popular among its consumers. Community Building: MIBW4A would employ and hire technical and casual staff to service their water filters and serve the vendors or other distributors. Besides, the company will focus on community educational programs about benefits of consuming clean water. Corporate Social Responsibility - Environment: MIBW4A will bear the cost of externalities incurred in the process of boiling the water, by ensuring reduced deforestation (popularly associated with charcoal burning). This would be attained by reducing the demand and need for bottled and bagged water, which potentially pollutes and litter the environment. With a daily average of 150-350 venders, the company estimated that each consumer will need at least 1 litre clean drinking water on a daily basis. Within the first year, the company planned to acquire 50 water filters. By the end of three years of operation, MIBW4A estimates their customer base to reach 3000, thus calling for acquisition of more filters in the subsequent years. After conducting an extensive market research, MIBW4A introduced its purified water products priced at USD 0.08 per litre. By only attracting 12% of the potential consumers, the company estimated daily average sales of 450,000 litres of clean

Genocide and Sri Lankan Tamils Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Genocide and Sri Lankan Tamils - Essay Example The Official Languages Commission set up by the Sri Lankan government in 2005 provides figures for the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka. The Tamil speaking minority in the country make up twenty-six percent of the population, which consists of thirteen percent Sri Lankan Tamils, six percent Tamils of recent Indian origin, and seven percent of Muslims. Though the Tamil speaking minority constitute more than a fourth of the population, their presence in government service is a mere 8.31 percent. Such a situation has arisen from Sri Lankan actions since the gaining of independence by using language as a weapon. Thus language has remained a key element in the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka (Reddy, 2007). While the roots of the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka may be ascribed to the colonial past, when the British imported a large number of Tamils into the country from neighbouring India, actions of the Sri Lankan government since independence are the more definitive cause for the violence in the country. Since independence successive governments have taken measures to ensure that the Tamils were denied equal opportunities to professions and the public sector. Such actions interacted in a complex manner with the already existent Sinhala Buddhist exclusivism that slowly led to the persisting animated ideology in the Sri Lankan State. Two legislative actions were to cause the cleavage and subsequent decades of violence and the rise of the LTTE as a terrorist organization to take the lead against the Sri Lankan government. The 1956 â€Å"Sinhala Only† act, which removed English as the official language and replaced it with Sinhala, was to make the Tamils disadvantaged, leading to prote sts from the Tamils. The subsequent legislation in the early 1970s, which created communal quotas for entrance to universities thereby denying meritorious Tamils admission, was to inflame the Tamils and lead to violence and the call fro a

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay Example for Free

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay This chapter looks at Young Goodman Brown from the perspective of the female characters. Baym notes that the protagonists, usually male, reject any sexual relationship with a woman, ordinarily the wife or fiancee (136). Usually, the rejection has a fatal effect on the scorned woman. Baym notes that stories written before 1842 have a female character who is destroyed only by accident not by intention. She notes that Browns departure from Faith was not an intentional act since Brown actually planned on returning to her after the forest trip. But Baym believes that the very act of the man leaving the woman shows the males indifference to the security of their female counterparts. Baym sees the women as being sexual beings and men as sexually frozen (138). She advises that mans lack of sexual desire is what truly kills the woman and allows the man to continue living in a hollow life. Baym quickly assures her readers that her comments do not reflect the real nature of women but about the way in which men imagine them (138). She suggests that Hawthornes men are obsessed with females but the only way they can make any connection with women is through fantasy. Coleman, Arthur. Hawthornes Pragmatic Fantasies. This article looks at the role of fantasy in many of Hawthornes works. There is a very small section devoted to Young Goodman Brown. In general, Coleman focuses on Hawthornes use of fantastic, eerie settings. Young Goodman Brown works as both reality and fantasy because of the distressed mind of Brown which could lead him to imagine bizarre events. Hawthornes question at the end of the story keeps the wondrous events within a sensible realm (362). Easterly, Joan Elizabeth. Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown. Joan Easterly claims in her article that Goodman Brown is a changed man after his experience in the woods. She notes that Hawthorne demonstrates how Brown, a Puritan, fails the test of his moral and spiritual being. Easterly points out that Brown does not cry after realizing what he has witnessed at the witches commune. By not crying or realizing his inner emotions, Brown cannot progress morally or spiritually. This explains the symbolism that Hawthorne uses throughout the work. For example, the cold drops from the hanging twig as Brown awakes are not a Christian baptism since the water does not sprinkle on his head like in most Christian baptisms (340). The dewdrops represent, according to Easterly, the reproval of Brown and his own wickedness. Browns lack of tears shows that he has no pity or compassion for the witches and therefore he cannot be a true Christian himself. Easterly concludes that Young Goodman Brown is emotionally sterile compared with the emotionally charged witches meeting. Hardt, John S. Doubts in the American Garden: Three Cases of Paradisal Skepticism Three works are discussed in this article: Rip Van Winkle, Young Goodman Brown, and The Fall of the House of Usher. In all of the works, the main characters enter natural or edenic settings only to meet with evil forces. Hardt terms this paradisal skepticism or a retreat from the paradisal ideal with a recognition of limits in human knowledge (249). Most critics characterize these works as portraits of the American experience but instead of man moving from ignorance to knowledge, man accepts that he is not capable of knowing everything. In the section on Young Goodman Brown, Hardt writes that the woods were once the Garden of Eden but have since been contaminated by the serpent (the old man) who is now in control of the wilderness. Browns departure from faith, both literally and figuratively, is a trip towards uncertainty where his knowledge will be tested. Hawthorne allows gaps between what Brown actually sees with his eyes and what he perceives like the serpent-like form of the old mans staff. Hardt advises that both Brown and the narrator have limited knowledge in that neither can decipher whether the witches communion was real or imagined. He concludes by noting that the only true knowledge that Goodman Brown gains after his experience is that he cannot know everything and he does not know everything. Browns lack of certainties affect him as he leaves the forest and begins to question the motives of all of the familiar townspeople. Shear, Walter. Cultural Fate and Social Freedom in Three American Short Stories. Young Goodman Brown, like James The Jolly Corner and Irvings Rip Van Winkle, has a triptych structure. In the first portion, the main character is seen in a detached state from his normal environment. The second section takes the character to an unfamiliar surrounding with bizarre happenings. The last section returns the character to his normal surroundings but in an altered state where the protagonist returns to a different relationship between himself and society. Shear notes two effects produced by this arrangement which are a fast flow into past and present that accents the great space between public and private histories and that history is good for the individual (543). As Goodman Brown leaves Faith, he becomes an individual psychologically. His departure from his wife is not only a symbolic loss of faith, but it is also his leaving behind conventional belief (545). In the woods, Browns religion is absent; therefore the familiar woods are nightmarish. He must struggle with the people in the woods in order to hold on to his morals and values. It is him against society and he is betrayed by that very society. At the end, Goodman Brown leaves the fantasy and returns to normal society. He is more aware of himself and of his relationship with other members of society. Shear says that Brown represents the unstable Puritanism as it decreases in its religious conviction and becomes somewhat hypocritical (547). Browns revulsion of his wife and community represents his own need to psychologically repress his reasons for taking the first step into the forest. Waggoner compares Poes Roderick Usher with Goodman Brown. He says that the difference between the two centers on real morbidity and real health (25). Browns secret guilt leads him into isolation since he becomes bitter because he had been given over to the evil in the world by actively participating in it (92). There is very little overt action and the plot usually consist of some type of journey. Also Waggoner advises that Browns fall from grace is less fortunate than the falls of other Hawthornes protagonists. Browns fall begins when he loses faith in the Puritan principles. From being an Innocent, he became a Cynic and so was lost because he could not accept the world as it really is (210). Williamson, James L. Young Goodman Brown: Hawthornes Devil in Manuscript. Studies in Short Fiction 18 (1981): 155-162. Williamson begins the article by commenting on Hawthornes definition of a good author. He advises that Hawthorne deemed the best writers as those with a little devil in them. Williamson comments on Hawthornes critique of women writers where Hawthorne says, Generally women write like emasculated men; but when they throw off the restraints of decency, and come before the public stark naked, as it were,- then their books are sure to possess character and value (155). Hawthorne means that writers should shed old conventions/traditions in order to write a good story. Williamson compares a main character, Oberon, in The Devil in Manuscript, who gives himself to the devil with Goodman Brown who does not give himself to the devil. Williamson suggests that in Young Goodman Brown there is a connection between the writer and the devil and the writer/speaker is actually a member of the devils party. He writes also that Brown actually meets with three devils: the old man, Goody Cloyse, and the speaker. The speaker is the devil in the manuscript in that he has the ability to make Brown and the reader perceive devilish qualities of the other characters. The often satiric tone of the speaker also hints at his devil-like qualities. This article focuses on works by Sarah Orne Jewett, A White Heron, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown. Zanger discusses the centrality of both stories on New England life. Both stories work well together as Jewetts story carries on the theme of Young Goodman Brown .The structural elements, as well, of both stories are similar. Zanger notes that both protagonists leave at sunset, quickly meet mysterious strangers and then accept the evil givings of the tempter or villian. Both characters revert from their intentions. In Hawthornes story, Brown cries to Faith to resist the evil and in Jewetts story, Sylvy refuses to tell the hunter where the heron nests. Zanger notes that each story ends in deliberate ambiguity (349). In Browns case, Hawthorne leaves the reader questionning whether Browns experience was real or fantasy. He also questions whether Browns cry to refuse the evil was of any value since his life after the woods remains desolate. There are some differences also between the two works that Zanger notes. For example, Jewetts wilderness is real' (350). Hawthorne does not go into detail about the animals in the forest unlike Jewett who specifically describes each one. Also, Jewetts forest is not clouded with evil undertones like the one that Goodman Brown enters. In relation to the individual characters, Brown begins his journey by choice as opposed to Sylvy who feels compelled to find the home of the heron. Zanger refers to Brown as one of the straw men who never questions the devils provocations. He also notes that Brown finally resists the devil based on fear, not faith (354). Zanger accepts the existing conclusion that, in light of the numerous similarities and differences, Jewett wrote A White Heron as a response to Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown.

Factors That Shape a Child’s Personality

Factors That Shape a Child’s Personality There is a growing interest in factors that influences and shapes a child’s personality, genetics and environmental factors are the two most prominent factors that are rising in debates. Personality theorist such as Sigmund Freud supports genetic factors and that it plays a huge role in shaping a child’s personality while Alfred Adler supports environmental factors that dominate in shaping the personality of a child. However, there are other studies and research that indicates genetic and environmental factors are both essential in building the personality of the child. The personality of the parents and the child reciprocates with each other to build a more positive parent-child relations depending on the situations and environments. Personality is the fundamental expression of feelings and emotions through bodily organizations, intelligences as well as special capacity as defined by Rue (2008). This is supported by Allport (1961), where he stated that personality is an individual’s characteristic patterns whereby it is stable throughout an individual’s development. Over the past few decades, increased studies have shown that genetics and environmental factors have an impact on a child’s behaviour (Rutter, 2006). One of such theories was provided by Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual development, where he supported the factors of nature in shaping a child’s personality during their early years. Human sexual life does not start at puberty but it begins soon after birth, with clear manifestations (Kline, 2014). Yet, there are opposing personality theorists who believed that the personality of an individual is shaped through interactions with the environment and the people around them. E xamples are Costa and McCrae’s five factor model where personality of individuals are categorised as openness to experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness as well as neuroticism and Alfred Adler’s theory on birth orders, where birth orders of an individual in the family will affect their personality. Child temperament is one of the most prominent genetic factor that shapes a child’s personality. It can be defined as the fundamental basis for affective arousal, expression and regulation components of personality (Goldsmith et al, 1987). Temperamental traits begins in early childhood and will be stabilized across time and it is the basic elements for later personality development (Coplan, Reichel Rowan, 2009). Children with difficult temperament will have a higher tendency to withdraw in connecting with new environments and people and they are more pessimistic and have negative emotionality (Laukkanen et al, 2014). For example, shyness is regarded as the temperamental tendency to experience fear and anxiety and they tend to exhibit more negative emotions and are inclined to the developing of internal problems (Coplan, Reichel Rowan, 2009). Therefore, when they are interacting with the societies and they are more likely to stimulate protective and over controlling responses from their parents or caregivers (Coplan, Reichel Rowan, 2009). One of such personality theorist, Sigmund Freud, believed that the fundamental personality was formed by events and things that happened in the first 6 years of life of an individual (Carroll, 2010). Carroll (2010) also stated that Freud classified a different erogenous zone where libidinal energy was directed and if that stage failed to complete, the libidinal energy will remained in that particular zone, leading to the child experiencing a fixation. Erogenous zones refers to areas of the body where they are highly sensitive to touch and are related to sexual pleasures. Freud’s psychosexual development consisted of oral, anal, phallic and genital stages as analysed by Carroll (2010). Oral stage is known as the first stage of psychosexual development and it lasts for the first eighteen months of a human life, described by Carroll (2010). According to him, it is a stage where the mouth, lips and tongue are the primary erogenous zone. Garcia (1995) explained that during this stage, mothers are the ones who have the most direct communication with the child and the mothers should attend to the child without implementing anxiety in the child. In accordance to Freud’s theory, complications and dispute in this stage could result in oral fixation and his could lead to behaviours such overeating, smoking and alcohol abuse (Carroll, 2010). The subsequence stage will be the anal stage where the anal area is the elementary erogenous zone and it is the period where children begins with their toilet training where the child begins to adopt the practical life lesson of how and when to let go and hold on to certain things and events (Carroll, 2010 Garcia, 1995). Carroll ( 2010) stated that failure in this stage could result in traits such as stubbornness, cleanliness and orderliness. The following stage, namely the phallic stage according to Freud, is the most critical period where it occurs between three to six years old. Carroll (2010) explained that Freud believed that during this stage, boys will undergo the Oedipus complex, while girls will undergo Electra complex and develop penis envy. He also described that oedipus complex is where a male child has sexual attraction for his mother and electra complex is where female child has incestuous desire for her father. However, before this stage ends, the male and female child will distinguish with parents of the same sex and embraces its masculine and feminine characteristics (Carroll, 2010). Superego from Freud’s psychoanalysis theory where he emphasise on unconscious mind in humans, will also being to establish around the same time and most children will take up the values of their parents (C arroll,2010). He also suggested that before entering puberty, the child will go through latency stage where libido in inverted and contained (Garcia, 1995). Carroll (2010) indicated that during this stage, sexual interest are supressed and children during this stage will play with others of the same sex. Garcia (1995) suggested that educations from caregiver and role model can help the children to learn more about the importance and the responsibilities of self-govern, self-expressions and its consequences. During puberty, the child will enter the last stage of psychosexual development, the genital stage whereby the child will develop the ability to adopt adult sexual behaviours and in this stage, libido is to be directed to an object that is significantly different from those childhood sexuality (Carroll, 2010). Genetics differences in individual’s personality are only predispositions to behaves in certain ways, conversely to the environmental factors that may suggest that different children with the similar predisposition in a different directions (Keogh, 2003). One dominant environmental factor is the parenting style and it has been seen as a fairly stable contributions to childrearing practices. Parenting style is characterized as parent’s behaviours and their interactions with their child over different situations, creating the interactional climate for parent-child relations (Laukkanen et al, 2014). Crockenberg et al (2008) indicated that maternal behaviour play a key role in developing children’s attention behaviour, personality and externalising trajectories. Fromm (2013) supported this by explaining that one of the essential factors in shaping a child’s personality is the relatedness to the child’s mother and how the mother behaves will influence th e child’s behaviour and personality. He also stated that Freud had dreams about his mother and it implies that as a child, he wanted to be fed by his mother, this symbolises as being cared for, loved and protected by his mother. If a child is being neglected and not fed by its caregiver, the child will grow impatient and angry as he or she feels that they have the right to immediate and complete attention (Fromm, 2013). Belsky and Barends (2002) claimed that the Five Factor Model (FFM), namely openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, by Costa and McCrae is the basic framework with regards to parents’ personality and the quality of parent-child relation. For example, neuroticism refers to individuals who have a high tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, hostility and more important emotionally instability (Vondra Belsky, 1993). Parents who score higher in neuroticism are more anxious and are more likely to embrace an overprotective style of parenting because of their tendencies to identify threats to their child in the environment (Coplan, Reichel Rowan, 2009). They also indicated that parents who score higher in neuroticism are unlikely to be responsive and displaying warm in parenting. On the other hand, agreeableness in individuals are reflected through their interpersonal skills, they can range from compassionate, trustwo rthy and being helpful to highly irritable and manipulation on others (Coplan, Reichel Rowan, 2009). Coplan, Reichel and Rowan (2009) also explained that mothers who are high in agreeableness exhibit more parental warmth and are highly responsive. Due to the tendencies to give in, agreeable parents will more likely to give in to their child, leading to a more harmonious parent-child relationships (Denissen, Aken Dubas, 2009). Extraversion is correlated with a higher level of positive effects and parents that score higher in extraversion are more likely to have a positive relationship with their child (Denissen, Aken Dubas, 2009). Belsky and Berends (2002) support this by stating that parents who are high in extraversion are more sensitive and responsive to their child. Parents who are high in conscientiousness are said to have a higher level of control over their own lives and therefore they are less regulated by the family rules, there are also evidences that suggest that parent s with high level of conscientiousness are correlated with higher quality of parent-child relation (Denissen, Aken Dubas, 2009). Lastly, they also indicated that parents who are high in openness to experience are found to have a positive relationship with their child as they are less restrictive towards their child due to them having a broader and more permeable conscientiousness. Personalities of parents have significant correlations with the personality of the child as supported by Kochanska, Friesenborg, Lange and Martel (2004), they stated that parents who are more agreeable have infants who are more able to focus their attention and more fearful while parents who are more empathic have infants who are better focused and less prone to anger and parents who are more open have infants that are more joyful. Laukkanen et al (2014) also indicated that parents who show high level of psychological control towards their child, will lead to the child developing a more maladaptive outcom es such as having lower self-esteem and lower academic performances. Another environmental factor is the birth order of the child and personality among siblings that was highly emphasized by Alfred Adler. Leman (2009) also pointed out that parental values are powerful factors that can affect every child in the family, especially the firstborns. Sulloway (2011) support birth order by conducting a study where adults were asked to compare their personality traits with their siblings. He found out that firstborns tend to be more achieving and conscientious while the laterborns tend to be more rebellious an open. Leman (2009) emphasized that firstborns are more reliable and they tend to differentiate right and wrong and believe that there is a right way to accomplish things. He also stated that firstborns are natural leaders and often tend to be achievement oriented. Whereby the middle child will more likely to be contradictory of the child before them in the family and they are often loyal and competitive (Leman, 2009). Leman (2009) also suggested that be ing the middle child, they are not expected to accomplish as much as those who are born before them and they are often the negotiator of the family who tries to keep the peace. As for the lastborns, Leman (2009) describe them as sociable, outgoing, spontaneous and humorous and they are often the most pampered ones in the family. However, being the youngest would mean that they are most likely to be picked on by other members in the family (Leman, 2009). He also stated that the entire family and its environment will change when a child is born and how the parents behaves and act towards the child will determine a great part in the child’s destiny. Leman (2009) stressed that a child’s personality depends largely on the personality and the parenting style of the parents. If parents are to controlling and applied too much stress or too unreasonable towards the firstborns, they can turn the child to a rebel who will messes up just to agitate the parents instead of excelling in their academic (Leman, 2009). To conclude, nature and nurture come together in many ways in shaping a child’s personalities (Bates Pettit, 2007). Those children whose personalities and temperaments are in conflicts with cultural norms and parental expectations have a higher tendency to evoke negative reactions from others and in turn, parents will become more controlling and adopting a more authoritarian parenting style (Maccoby, 2007). In some cases, the personalities of children and parents may have a lot of resemblance as they will mimic each other and share a portion of the same genes that will affect their temperament (Denissen, Aken Dubas, 2009). Therefore, shaping the personality of the child is mostly depending on the reciprocal relations and interactions between the parents and the child. For example, happy and easy infants will have a positive and responsive relationship with their parents and also, affecting ambience in mothers will likewise have positive and consistent relationship with fearf ul infants as mothers tend to be more protective towards fearful infants (Kochanska, Friesenborg, Lange Martel, 2004). References Allport, G. W. (1961). Pattern and growth in personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S. (2007). Temperament, Parenting, and Socialization. In J. Gausec P. Hastings. In Handbook of Socialization (pp. 153-177). New York: Guilford. Belsky, J., Barends, N. (2002). Personality and parenting (2nd ed., Vol. 3). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum: M. H. Bornstein. Carroll, J. (2010). Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Coplan, R. J., Reichel, M., Rowan, K. (2009). Exploring the associations between maternal personality, child temperament, and parenting: A focus on emotions. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 241–246. Crockenberg, S. C., Leerkes, E. M., Barrig Jo, P. S. (2008). Predicting aggressive behavior in the third year from infant reactivity and regulation as moderated by maternal behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 37-54. Denissen, J. J., Aken, M. A., Dubas, J. S. (2009). It Takes Two to Tango: How Parents’ and Adolescents’ Personalities Link to the Quality of Their Mutual Relationship. Developmental Psychology, 45(4), 928–941. Fromm, E. (2013). Sigmund Freuds Mission: An Analysis of his Personality and Influence. Open Road Media. Garcia, J. L. (1995). Freuds Psychosexual Stage Conception: A Developmental Metaphor for Counselors. Journal of Counseling Development, 73, 498-502. Goldsmith, H. H., Buss, A. H., Plomin, R., Rothbart, M. K., Thomas, A., Chess, S., al, e. (1987). Roundtable: What is temperament? Four approaches. Child Development, 58, 505–529. Grazyna, K., Amanda, E. F., Lindsey, A. L., Michelle, M. M. (n.d.). Keogh, B. (2003). Temperament In The Classroom: Understanding Individual Differences. United States, Baltimore: Bethesda. Kline, P. (2014). Fact and Fantasy in Freudian Theory. New York: Routledge. Kochanska, G., Friesenborg, A. E., Lange, L. A., Martel, M. M. (2004). Personality Processes and Individual Differences: Parents’ Personality and Infants’ Temperament as Contributors to Their Emerging Relationship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(5), 744–759. Laukkanen, J., Ojansuu, U., Tolvanen, A., Alatupa, S., Aunola, K. (2014). Child’s Difficult Temperament and Mothers’ Parenting Styles. J Child Family Study, 23, 312–323. Leman, K. (2009). The birth order book: Why you are the way you are. Grand Rapids: MI: Revell. Maccoby, E. E. (2007). Historical Overview of Socialization Research and Theory. In J. E. Grusec, P. D. Hastings, Handbook of Socialization: Theory and Research (pp. 13-41). New York: Guilford Publications. Rue, D. W. (2008, January 30). What is Prsonality? The Educational Forum, 1(1), 54-59. Rutter, M. (2006). Genes and behavior: Nature-nurture interplay explained. Oxford: UK: Blackwell. Sulloway, F. J. (2011). Why siblings are like Darwin’s finches: Birth order, sibling competition, and adaptive divergence within the family. In D. M. Buss, P. H. Hawley, The evolution of personality and individual differences. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Vondra, J., Belsky, J. (1993). Developmental origins of parenting: Personality and relationship factors. In T. Luster, L. Okagaki, Parenting: An ecological perspective (pp. 1–33). Hillsdale: NJ: Erlbaum.

Homoerotic Unions Make Up for Unsatisfying Marriages Essay -- Marriage

Homoerotic Unions Make Up for Unsatisfying Marriages Marriage is undeniably effective for some things such as procreation and rearing those produced children.Ê Biologically, all creatures need heterosexual union of some kind to continue their species, but this union need not be a required social construct.Ê In ancient and classical Greece, as well as in much of the world today, marriage is a social expectation.Ê Elders encourage young men to choose their even younger wives at the expected time and to create a respectable typical household.Ê But is marriage actually necessary or even what people desire?Ê Hellenic marriage seems to be constructed in such a way as to leave many Greeks unsatisfied and discontent.Ê Why else would adultery and keeping mistresses be so prevalent?Ê One strong indicator of this general dissatisfaction is the prevalence of homoerotic relationships and their benefits compared to the benefits of marriage.Ê Based on textual evidence provided in Plato?s Symposium and Sappho?s lyr ic poetry, homoerotic relationships seem to be important and often essential unions that do not fit into the social construct of Hellenic marriages.Ê ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ?We human beings will never attain happiness unless we find perfect love (Plato 193c,? says Plato?s version of comic playwright Aristophanes.Ê However, it is not necessarily a joke.Ê For many people, perfect love is not to be found in Hellenic marriage.Ê Rather, their natural desires lead them towards a lover or life partner of the same sex.Ê It seems that many intellectual Greeks understood that homoerotic desire was inherent in many people, yet marriage continued to prevail as the leading lifestyle.Ê In Symposium, Plato has Aristophanes tell a... ...struct of marriage, homoerotic relationships allow power dynamics to be based on personal rather than societal stipulations, thereby being more fulfilling for many people. ÊSince there was undeniable same sex desire in many people, these relationships were inevitable in ancient and classical Greece.Ê Unfortunately, as long as these people lived in a society where heterosexual marriage was necessary, they could not pursue their homoerotic relationships as lifelong partnerships.Ê Pausanius and Agathon?s relationship was a rare exception, yet, they did not actually live together.Ê Marriage required people to stay in socially determined, inherently unbalanced, heterosexual relationships and thereby left many unsatisfied.Ê Thus, the presence of these homoerotic relationships, shows that many people were not happy in their traditional, Hellenic marriages.Ê

Ablutophobia: The Fear of Washing and Bathing :: essays research papers fc

Ablutophobia The Fear of Washing or Bathing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ablutophobia, defined as the fear of washing, bathing and cleaning is an intense fear that poses no or little danger. Just thinking about bathing could cause a number of symptoms such as: breathlessness, dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or even an anxiety attack. Most people who are suffering from the phobia are surprised when they find out that they aren’t alone. Ablutophobia is surprisingly common. It is caused by the mind as a protective mechanism. From some point in the past there was a traumatic event linking with washing, bathing or cleaning. It could have also been formed from a realistic scare or even from movies, TV or seeing someone else experience trauma. Some people who suffer experience it all the time and some others experience it in just direct situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not only does it effect your health and quality of life but, Ablutophobia can have a severe effect on anyone that works or is in school; living with the fear can make it hard to concentrate on something and fully give your best. Ablutophobia can cause a loss of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime due to lost opportunities, poor performance or grades, or promotions that pass you by.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are two different treatments for Ablutophobia; the ever popular temporarily suppress the phobia with potent, prescribed medicine, and therapy, self-help treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The medicinal treatment of Ablutophobia is only a temporary treatment to cover up the fear or make the person think that they are being medicated to not be scared anymore. The therapy treatment is more common and there are a few different therapeutic treatments. One is working with a practitioner to train the unconscious mind to connect different, positive feelings with the situation that triggers the phobia. After this you can stop the root of the fear of cleaning, bathing and washing. Another way is through a one day or sometimes, but rarely, a 1-6 day treatment program. Since I could not find a case study of a patient I added a psychologist specializing in phobias discovery that is quoted from one of my sources.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A few years ago a scientist specializing in phobias like Ablutophobia made an amazing discovery.

India shine

As the first reports started to trickle in, the apprehensions of the party workers at 7 RCA and Congress WHQL began to crystallize to gloom. The early trends seemed to be daunting and slowly yet steadily the buildup towards the ultimate result was emerging. Beyond doubt the flow was In favor of Brutally Kanata Party (BGP), the major opposition party. By the end of the day†¦ The Congress was truly humbled with an abysmally low tally†¦ 44 seats, the lowest ever in the electoral history since independence. For the first time in two decades BGP emerged on its own as the arrest single party.Backdrop & Introspection The result had its impact, at the Congress Parliamentary Board Meeting, the next day. Party President Mrs.. Sonic Gandhi and the Vice President Mr.. Rural Gandhi offered to resign. In an expected twist to the tale, their resignations were not accepted and the party decided to take collective responsibility. There were many issues to focus and It was quite unclear as t o how the grand old party would seek to address these. For two successive terms, the party governed at centre along with Its coalition partners. 2004 elections sprang a definite surprise.The BGP government was on an upswing, the campaign was highly Innovative, the economy In good nick with growth rate around 9. 5% and the image of Its leader Mr.. ABA Payees was most respected. The party perceived itself to be in the driving seat and its campaign â€Å"India Shining† was expected to hit off well with the electorate. In spite of strong economic indicators, fairly good record of governance, general sense of well being and all the predictions of re-election, the BGP were stunned. The congress campaign negated the best of Bops claims thus enabling them to take the lead in forming the government.An intrepid and a politically innovative advertisement blitz failed to impress. The most unexpected happened and Congress secured its victory. The first five years I. E. 2004-2009, were con servative yet relatively non controversial. The symptoms of decline began to emerge. The economy was showing signs of recession, growth rate was on the slump, global economic conditions started to show challenging signs yet the congress managed to pull off In 2009 to get re-elected to form a coalition government again. Things began to change†¦ Emboldened by its re-election and the arty started to influence policies and decisions resulting in an indifferent state of governance, conflicts, dilution of control, ineffective monitoring. Ministries began to exert themselves and more or less operated with impunity and became non responsive to PM; abundance of corrupt practices and scandals broke out, economy began to decline with high inflation, price rise, unemployment, dropping investments, growing incidents of violence against women, Look pal agitation etc which put a great deal of pressure.The PM to large extent restricted his operations to his domain and as not seen exerting hims elf to bring the administration under his control. Coupled with this was the most Ineffective approach towards media and interaction on media which left the party scuttling for cover on many occasions. There emerged a general sense of strolls and stagnant state of affairs which was becoming a common overlook a large number of them. For the elections 2014, the focus of the party remained on personality I. E.BGP preliminaries candidate and the issue of secularism. The emergence of PAP and its impact was sidelined and many issues relevant to the runner context of elections were not taken into cognizance. The approach was quite ambivalent and ambiguous. The net result was a mixed message to the electorate looking for answers to questions which remained unanswered. Campaign Challenges : BGP By 2011, the BGP apparently began its preparations to target the 2014 elections. The party began its preparation with a focus on identifying the correct strategy.Having faced the double defeat in 2004 and 2009, it realized that success is possible if the party is able to project its image and be identified as a national alternative. In order to do so, it had to set itself on important issues namely Personality, Platform, Plank, Diversity, Demography and Development. By default, the PUP lead government seemed to pave way for crystallization of BGP campaign strategy by series of actions and inactions. As a first step, the BGP began the exercise of identifying a candidate suitable for spearheading the campaign.After a series of up's and town's, the party was able to narrow down to the CM of Gujarat, Mr.. Neared Mood. The choice was fraught with controversy as many including leading political analysts felt that this old endanger the Bops chances. Even within the party there was a dissent from senior leaders like ELK Divan, Cushman Swarms etc. The other national parties seemed to rejoice as they felt it was a trap BGP had set for itself and the choice would undo their chances. By 201 3, the official declaration took place and Mood was anointed the PM candidate, the face of BGP for the 2014 elections.While the choice of Mood was becoming a controversy, the approach towards elections was to be aligned. The reach out was tremendous, the political alliances were challenging, the geographical ileitis were imposing, the regional heavy weights were difficult to rope in, Mood as a choice was also alienating some erstwhile partners like JDK(U). The party had to identify themes and means to reach out to the target population and make a convincing pitch. The environment had undergone an extensive technology makeover since 2004.The decade has brought in changes in perception as regards elections, greater apolitical pro activity and dependence on reliable and fast communications. The demography too has undergone a rapid change; there was a growing sense of discontent on account of various factors effecting the society, economy and evildoer. Moreover, issues like unrest due t o nationalism, cross border tensions, reactive neighborhood etc also tended to make the Job of convincing electorate that much more difficult. Though the national situation on multiple fronts was grim, the fact that such a situation was a hidden opportunity or not was truly debatable.There were challenges in abundance and the choices were limited by time. The objective was to conceive and present a campaign which appeals to all sections simultaneously and converts the message to conviction and thereafter to action in terms of vote. Starting a campaign too early would be self defeating (2004 stands testimony for that) and too late would be ineffective or defensive (2009 a possible example). The question of when, where, how and who? For an effective campaign message and medium were to be identified and reinforced convincingly as a national alternative.Bops approach towards 2014 was characterized by structured planning and focused execution. It SE about the Job in a clinical manner wit h pre defined objectives to achieve. The campaign activity was set in motion by basic reorganization of the party dare, revamp & election of national executive, short listing prospective Prime Ministerial candidate, identifying issues relevant for campaign, projecting party agenda through articulate spokespersons, adopting multiple media options to leverage reach & communicate were part of numerous hurdles that needed to be considered.The national demography has undergone a substantial change and the increased awareness would also need specific attention. The climate across the country appears to have undergone a change with people across the cross section of society evincing a new found interest in elections. The youth and the educated middle and the upper middle class known for its disregard towards participation in elections appeared reengineering. A conservative estimate put the number of youth vote bank across the country was at 100 million.A substantial chunk of this needed to be harnessed and it was also essential for the party to enhance its vote share across the country. The party needed to correctly identify the challenges of multiple segments divided by diverse parameters such as culture, language, education, age, economic status, religion. Large number of local issues were taking precedence over sectional issues which diluted the party's influence visa–visa the regional players.The campaign called for deliberate action plan with defined objectives and with red flags across the time span to accelerate/ decelerate the campaign. The party decided to go all out leveraging the best of technical brains. A multi-tiered campaign was to be conducted with the objective of targeting and winning over the circumspect population in its favor.. The impact was like a corporate entity trying to rebind itself with a new product launch. There was branding, there was product development, here was segment specific media strategy and there was people to people co ntact.As the stage was set, the BGP was in top gear with the assemble results in northern states showing a thundering favor towards BGP. The time of opportune but the choices were different and difficult. Any misalignment would prove costly. The Aftermath The campaign was highly intense. Both the national parties pitched in all the resources. It was a no holds bar election with reputations at stake. The results were historic. An outright majority for BGP and an irrevocable domination of the Look Saba long with its allies.The congress and the PUP stood decimated. The results were a surprise & beyond all the expectations of all political parties, experts and election surveys. What went right for BGP and why? What factors in this election are lessons for use of effective advertising and media promotion? How did Congress â€Å"Fail to sense the pulse†? What went wrong with experts and pollsters who could not identify the mood? Did â€Å"Personality, Platform, Plank, Diversity, D emography and Development† influence the advertising and media choices and if so how?

With whom does the responsibility of the holocaust ultimately lie?

The Holocaust was the end result of a long chain of events that lead all the way back to 1919 when Hitler became part of the Nazis. But to find out who was really responsible for the Holocaust, we shall need to go way back, back to 1918. In 1918, there was a small group of right-wing extremists formed a Nationalist party, which appealed to the working classes led by Anton Drexler. In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined as a member of the National Socialist Germany Workers Party (‘Nazi' for short). In 1920 the Nazis put out a 25 point statement of their beliefs. This programme was the work of Hitler. Its main ideas were nationalism, anti-Semitism and anti-capitalism. The Nazi programme called for the creation of a ‘Greater Germany' in which all German-speaking peoples were united. It also called for the destruction of the Treaty of Versailles. There was nothing unique in these nationalistic ideas. They were shared by other German right-wing extremists. Anti-Semitism was widespread in the right-wing circles in Germany and Austria in the early 20th century. Hitler seems to have become infected with the idea in Vienna before 1914. By the early 1920s he was making speeches which contained frenzied attacks on Germany's Jews. The Nazi programme of 1920 was openly anti-Semitic although it did not employ the violent language which Hitler used in is speeches. For nearly two decades after 1945 it was generally assumed that Hitler was totally responsible for the Holocaust – and everything else that happened in Nazi Germany. The Third Reich was seen as a one power state where all power was concentrated in the Fihrer's hands. Hitler's vitriolic hatred of all Jews was seen as sufficient on its own to explain the murder of millions of Jews. Many historians still believe that Hitler was an all-powerful dictator whose will was translated into action. Some historians see him conceiving the idea of the extermination of the Jews in the 1920s and pursuing this intention remorselessly once he was handed power in 1933. But back in 1918, Anton Drexler was the key point that turned Hitler (and him being refused a place at the art school by the Jews at Vienna), so really, he played a massive part. Without him, there might have not even been a Nazi party at all. But on the other hand, Hitler was not the only one responsible for the industrial removal of countless numbers of Jews. Nazi Germany was a ‘totalitarian' country. Totalitarian countries can be thought of as ones which try to establish total control over the lives of their citizens. They always only allow one political party, the ruling party tries to force its ideas on the rest of society and tries to stop people believing in other ideas and the ruling party aims to control all aspects of people's lives – there is no area where the citizen is left to think or act as he or she pleases. In Nazi Germany the tasks of detecting and stamping out opposition was the responsibility of the SS. The SS was created in 1925. Its full name was the ‘Schutzstaffel'. This means ‘protection squad'. The purpose for which the SS was formed was to provide Hitler and other Nazi leaders with a bodyguard. Things changed when the SS got a new leader in 1929. This was Himmler. Himmler came from a well-off middle-class family. He joined the Nazi party in 1923 after service in the army and the Free Corps. In 1929 he was only 29 years old. Special SS units called ‘Einsatzgruppen' (action squads) were set up to deal with resistance to Nazi rule in German-occupied countries. These units were murder gangs. They went into invaded countries behind the German army and rounded up and killed anyone who was felt to be a threat. In Eastern Europe the Einsatzgruppen were responsible for hundreds of thousands of people. Their victims included Jews. This was another example of the SS and Himmler killing Jews, and overall contributing to the Holocaust. Himmler ensured that Hitler's orders were carried out. An extreme racist who was totally loyal to Hitler, Himmler is often regarded as the ‘architect of genocide'. However, Himmler delegated considerable authority in Jewish matters to Reinhard Heydrich, his loyal henchman. At the Wannsee conference in January 1942 it was Heydrich who formalised the administrative arrangements of the Holocaust. The SS was a perfect instrument for genocide. Its members were fanatical Nazis and had a grossly distorted sense of duty. Few doubt that Himmler, Heydrich and the SS played a vital role in the Final Solution. However, Himmler and Heydrich were not the only leading Nazis involved in anti-Jewish initiatives. Nor were the SS the only killers. It was a combination of everyone in Germany who caused the holocaust. After 1937 relations between Hitler and his generals turned sour. The generals were unenthusiastic when Hitler told them of his plans for a war of conquest in Europe. Hitler decided that they were spineless.. During the war he took little notice of the expert advice of the Generals and was quick to sack them if they failed. It was once claimed that the German armed forces were untainted by Hitler's racism and not responsible for the Holocaust. After 1938 Hitler treated the Generals with a certain amount of contempt. In 1934 he had promised them that no military force other than the army would be permitted in Germany: he broke his promise when he allowed the Waffen SS to be set up . After 1945 many of Germany's top officers claimed they were unaware of what was happening to the Jews. Most historians now, however, believe that the army was massively implicated in the Final Solution. German historians have argued that the bulk of leading army officers were anti-Semitic and, regarding the was against the USSR as a war to the death, were quite content to support the brutality of the SS. The letters and diaries of ordinary German troops suggest that the majority were also extremely racist. Many seem to have carried out horrendous massacres with enthusiasm. In the 1920s and early 1930s foreigners working in Germany as diplomats or journalists sometimes suggested that of Hitler getting into power he would become respectable and leave anti-Semitism behind. In 1933 there were about half a million Jews living in Germany. When in power the Nazis put their anti-Semitic beliefs were savagely put into practice. It should not be thought that they were a number of people who were somehow living apart from the rest of the population in Germany and else where . In the 1920s Jewish community provided the Weimar Republic with some of its most celebrated citizens . 100,000 German Jews had fought and died alongside non-Jews in the German army during the first world war. Most members of Germany's population . Nazi claims that Jews controlled the political and economic life of the Weimar Republic were pure fantasy. The first official attack made on Germany's Jews came in the form of a boycott of Jewish shops ordered by Hitler for 1 April 1933. There were other anti-Jewish moves in 1933 apart from the one-day shops boycott. The most important of these was a law which forced Jews out of the German civil service. In the five years after Hitler came to power Jews in Germany were viciously persecuted. Over 200 were murdered. Large Numbers emigrated. In the 1930s half of Germany's Jewish population left the country. Others Stayed. Perhaps they thought that after the Nuremberg Laws things could not get worse. After 1945 most Germans insisted they had no idea of what was happening to Jews in the east. Many may have been telling the truth. There is no doubt that the Holocaust was implemented with the utmost secrecy. There are no public opinion polls results to tell us so it is very hard to say how much opposition there was to Nazism in Germany after 1938. It is most likely that the number of people who disliked Nazism was very large, although people wouldn't come forward to admit it. There is, however, a difference between disliking something and actively opposing it. The number of people who either protested openly against Nazism or who tried to overthrow it was very small. These people were people of extraordinary bravery. The penalty for resistance was at very least detention in a concentration camp and was normally death. Most people who disliked but did not resist Nazism appear to have tried to shut themselves off from what was happening. This became known as ‘inner emigration'. In 1963 the Jewish scholar Hannah Arendt claimed that: ‘if the Jewish people had really been unorganised and leaderless, there would have been chaos and plenty of misery but the total number of victims would hardly have been between four and a half and six million people'. Arendt charged Jewish leaders with helping the process of destruction by complying with Nazi orders to supply names and groups of Jews for transportation to the death camps. Many scholars have rejected this thesis. Isaiah Trunk, for example, focused attention on the dilemma confronting Jewish leaders in the Polish ghettos. His Conclusion was that they were in an impossible position. Having little option but to obey Nazi commands, they did their best to protect their communities. So, in conclusion we can see that there were many areas were people have helped along the Holocaust, and some who tried to stop it. It is a difficult question to answer, as responsibility lies in many areas. If you are talking about the killing in the concentration camps, then it would be the Nazis because they used the British idea and worked on it, then systematically moved allot of European Jews from their homes to the camps. If you are talking about the entire anti-Semitic campaign, then responsibility lies in many areas, the Nazis, even Jews themselves. So, in conclusion, I think that overall everyone in Germany at that time had a part to play in the way things went.

Building a Company Without Borders

HBR. ORG Bart Becht is the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, headquartered in Slough, England. Building a Company Without Borders An Italian Is Running The Uk Business A Dutchman Is Running The U. S. Business An American Is Running The German Business By Bart Becht A Frenchman Is Running The Russian Business An Indian Is Running The Chinese Business A Belgian Is Running The Brazilian Business T The Idea You may never have heard of Reckitt Benckiser, but in the past few years the company has outperformed its rivals P&G, Unilever, and Colgate in growth—even during the downturn. Here’s how. ey say you can’t go home again. If you work for Reckitt Benckiser, you can go home—but you may not want to, and you certainly won’t have to. Many companies, when they describe themselves as global, mean they have operations around the world, they work virtually and in all time zones, and their key people are developed through stints in other markets. Our version is more comprehensive. Most of our top managers haven’t held jobs in their countries of origin for years and view themselves as global citizens rather than as citizens of any given nation. We have operations in more than 60 countries. Our top 400 managers represent 53 di erent nationalities. We’ve spent the past 10 years building this culture of global April 2010 Harvard Business Review 103 This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group. HOW I DID IT mobility because we think it’s one of the best ways to generate new ideas and create global entrepreneurs. And it has paid o . Products launched in the past three years—all the result of global cross-fertilization—account for 35% to 40% of our net revenue. For example, Finish, an all-in-one dishwasher tablet you drop into your machine, is now the leader in its market category. Recently we successfully introduced QuantuMatic—an automatic dispenser of dishwasher detergent that doesn’t need to be re lled for up to a month. With constant innovation like this we’ve enjoyed steady, pro table growth, even during the downturn. Since 2005 we’ve outpaced all our big competitors. During the recession we’ve invested more than ever in marketing, and we grew at a rate of 8% (at constant exchange rates) in 2009. A Company Without a Country The RB â€Å"Powerbrands† Though the company’s corporate brand recognition is very low, its products are well-known. RB focuses on 17 powerbrands: Air Wick Calgon (water softener) Cillit Bang Clearasil Dettol Finish French’s PREVIOUSLY ELECTRASOL Gaviscon AMERICA IN NORTH Harpic Lysol Mortein Mucinex Nurofen Strepsils Vanish Veet Woolite 104 Harvard Business Review April 2010 Reckitt Benckiser resulted from a merger in 1999 of Reckitt & Colman—a British purveyor of household cleaning products with a great stable of brands—and the Dutchlisted Benckiser, a much smaller but betterperforming consumer goods company. But we don’t want to be known as an AngloDutch enterprise, or by any other label based on our operations or history. We’re not any country’s company—we’re a truly multicountry company. That is by design. Postmerger we mixed the national cultures quickly in every corner of our operations. Premerger many of the local businesses had been running themselves more or less independent of the rest of the world and without regard to overall corporate priorities. We transferred people who embodied RB’s values into key positions in new markets. Managers from one side of the merger were purposely moved to another territory, and then moved again. Now in every country we have people of many nationalities as well as local citizens. Today an Italian is running the UK business, and an American is running the German business. A Dutchman is running the U. S. business, an Indian the Chinese business, a Belgian the Brazilian business, and a Frenchman the Russian business. It’s not that you can’t advance at RB in your local company. You can. But we also offer unique global mobility and experience to people who want to grow their careers on a world stage. To facilitate this mobility, we established compensation rules that apply equally to our top 400 managers in all markets, making international transfers easy. We have just one employment contract, and our salary ranges were developed with global benchmarking. Our annual cash bonus structure and long-term incentive plans are the same for everyone, as are our pensions, medical plans, and other benefits. We have no expatriates in the traditional sense, no tax equalization or guarantee of a job back in one’s home country. When employees take jobs in other countries, they’re transferred as â€Å"local hires. † We’ve built in standard protocols to make it easier for people with families to move. For example, we fund whatever school the employee chooses for his or her children because we understand how important that is to a family’s adjustment. That way, we can instantly accomplish a transfer—we don’t have to negotiate a lot of convoluted contractual nonsense. We have moved people to new countries in as little as two days. We also do something pretty rare with graduates. In some markets we help foreign students to get work permits in the countries where they’ve been studying. The very fact that they have traveled to study means they are internationally minded and thus likely to be keen to work in other countries as well. At a lot of companies it’s assumed that employees, having â€Å"seen the world,† will sooner or later return to their home countries to continue their careers. Our idea is that you focus primarily on the best job possible for you, regardless of country. That kind of life isn’t for everyone, and not everyone has to follow that path. But those who love it really love it. It’s exciting, and it gives pace, challenge, learning, and a buzz to people’s careers—along with the satisfaction of being able to be entrepreneurial and innovative. We try to put our high potentials in stretching situations around the globe. For example, we had one excellent employee who wanted to be moved to an international marketing job. We had an opening in India, but that would have been a poor choice for him—he’s Indian. Our previous three marketing people in India were German, French, and British. If this employee wanted to grow, he needed to acquire different experiences and learning, so a better development opportunity would be for him to work in Brazil or Mexico. Our high potentials have to find their footing very quickly, and most of them grow tremendously when we take them out of their familiar zone. This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group. HBR. ORG Reckitt Benckiser at a Glance A DECADE OF GROWTH , MILLIONS , ?, ? Total , Net Revenue (? M) , , , , , , , OPERATING PROFIT , Operating Pro? t (? M) NET REVENUE , Employees ?, ? , Total , Net Revenue (? M) Operating Pro? t (? M) Employees SOURCE RECKITT BENCKISER Even their failures in new markets are important learning experiences for our high potentials. One of our top managers, who is Dutch, still talks about the hard lesson he learned when we transferred him to Turkey. In The Netherlands, where he had worked before, billing and receivables were predictable and orderly. In Turkey the currency suddenly collapsed by 70%—while he was focusing on market share rather than on delinquent receivables. As he puts it, there’s nothing like a currency failure to change your views on tight financial management. If you don’t express your opinion, you don’t have an opinion, and that’s a fatal weakness for people who want to do well at Reckitt Benckiser. That means our meetings are a bit chaotic. Everybody wants to be heard, so it’s more like an Italian family dinner than a nicely organized board meeting. What takes over in our meetings is an intensity and a feeling that we have to ght for better ideas. Con ict is good. We don’t care about consensus. Not having it doesn’t slow us down and doesn’t mean that people aren’t aligned. We make decisions fast and then all stand behind them. What isn’t tolerated is conflict that simply slows down decision making or is for political or personal gain. Almost every key decision is made in the meeting at which it’s rst discussed. We expect people to come armed with facts, be prepared to argue their point of view, and be willing to live with the decision we ultimately make. Get 80% alignment and 100% agreement to implement. And move quickly. But I also don’t believe in crushing minority views. If we have 10 people in a room, eight of them agreeing on one thing and two passionately believing something else, we don’t try to resolve it to everyone’s satisfaction. We allow those two to experiment with their ideas—even if everyone else thinks they’re wrong. At the end of the day, what counts is not what the 10 people in that room think, it’s what the consumer thinks. So we let them run maverick smallscale experiments to get consumer feedback. Sometimes our biggest ideas come that way. About six years ago we had a huge internal debate about a product called Air Wick Freshmatic, which automatically releases freshener into the air on a schedule. It originated when one of our brand managers in Korea observed a new kind of automatic scent dispenser in stores there. In his opinion it was not a well-designed product, but he thought the idea was intriguing, so he brought it to a group meeting at our headquarters. Vigorous debate ensued. April 2010 Harvard Business Review 105 With so many different native languages in our company, it was necessary to make English the official language for all meetings. I’m Dutch, but I don’t speak Dutch with any of my Dutch colleagues, because if others are around, it excludes them. We are one team with one language. English isn’t most people’s native language, and often our English isn’t pretty. But the way we see it, it doesn’t matter as long as you give a view. If you don’t express your opinion, you don’t have an opinion, and that’s a fatal weakness for people who want to do well at Reckitt Benckiser. You have to stand for something, no matter how bluntly you communicate it. Con? ict Is Good This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group. HOW I DID IT HBR. ORG RB’s Performance-Based Remuneration Reckitt Benckiser believes it has designed a compensation plan to foster its innovative and entrepreneurial culture. The company has touted performance-oriented pay in its annual report as key to RB’s strong growth. According to a 2006 Harvard Business School case study, the plan, which applies to the company’s top managers (including the CEO), consists of three parts: base salary, short-term incentives, and long-term incentives. Base salaries are set near the median for competitors’ pay. The real bene? comes in the form of bonuses. A manager who meets all targets will typically receive 40% of his or her base salary as a bonus that year. A manager who blows the targets out of the water A manager who blows the targets out of the water can earn a bonus of up to 144%. (usually that means doubling the target numbers) can earn a bonus of up to 144%. Long-term compensation, in the form of options and perf ormance-related restricted stock, depends on meeting three-year corporate growth targets for earnings per share. New long-term goals are put into place each year. Karen Dillon A couple of our managers believed it should be a consumer product in Europe, but a lot more thought that made no sense— it might work in Korea on a very small scale, but it would never work in Western markets. For one thing, it would have to be priced well above the standard air freshener, and it wasn’t clear that the market would support that. Also, this would be our rst foray into something electronic, with wires, batteries, interval switches—a complex technology combination. The product would require new manufacturing facilities if it went to any scale. But two people meant we had to source materials we had no prior experience with. Today Air Wick Freshmatic is sold in 85 countries, with a wide range of options for consumers. It generates well in excess of ? 200 million annually. That product had the most successful launch in our history. Of course, things don’t always work out that well. We’ve launched some beautifully thought-out products that we were passionate about—but consumers weren’t. A few years ago we introduced a wonderful product to clean your microwave: You put a little sachet into the oven and start it. While If someone wants to stand up under stress and say, â€Å"No, I passionately believe in this,† then I’m willing to take a chance. saw the potential and were willing to ght for the chance to prove it. If somebody wants to stand up under stress and say, â€Å"No, I passionately believe in this. You guys are all wrong! We’ve got to do this,† then I’m willing to take a chance. So in this case I said ne, here’s the money— go gure it out, but do it on a small scale. And that’s what they did. In January 2004, initial testing of the idea with consumers in the UK produced extraordinary results. By the end of the year the product was in more than 30 other countries, and we’d overseen the building of a new factory in China to make it—which 106 Harvard Business Review April 2010 the oven is heating, the sachet pops and spreads cleaner around. When it’s nished, the sachet has become a cloth to wipe your cleaner away. It was a beautifully designed product. But it turns out that people don’t actually want to clean their microwaves all that often, so we pulled it from the market. If we are going to fail, we want to fail small and quickly. Failure is actually a huge incentive for the kind of people who fit well with our company, because they’re so personally competitive that they’ll work even faster for the next success. Everyone wants to do something to get on the map. I just moved one manager from Chile to Turkey. He earned that move because he had done something very challenging in his market—he’d launched one of our â€Å"powerbrands,† the sanitizer Dettol, in Latin America. It wasn’t the biggest success we’ve ever had, but the point is that he did it. He was the guy who brought Dettol to Chile and created a platform for its growth. That’s his mark on the business. That kind of thing earns you a promotion in this company, and the promotion will probably take you to another part of the world. Some people look at us and think they’d have to be nuts to work here. We’re looking for people with a certain level of maturity, intensity, and competitiveness. If you bring all of that to Reckitt Benckiser, it will be rewarded. (See the sidebar â€Å"RB’s Performance-Based Remuneration. †) As the CEO who has guided the company for more than a decade, I’d like to take credit for having a brilliant strategy or unique insights into the global marketplace. But in reality the â€Å"vision† slide we use today is the exact same one we’ve used since the merger. We have a very simple approach to the business: Focus on 17 powerbrands in fast-growing categories, innovate and invest behind them—and do so in every market. At the end of the day, what is most distinct about Reckitt Benckiser is its people and culture. I can tell in three minutes if someone would be a good t for our company. We’d rather have a position open for a long time, if necessary, than put the wrong person in place. It’s that important. HBR Reprint R K This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group.

Misrepresentation of Canadian First Nations People

One can argue that the 2010 Olympics committee has edited and re-packaged native culture — which has also been ripped out of its traditional contexts. The Committee is highlighting Arctic indigenous imagery — yet Vancouver, the centre of the Games, is a temperate city. Arctic indigenous peoples did not live there — or on the nearby Whistler and Cypress mountains, where some Olympic events will be held. Other BC First Nations tribes who did live in that area of British Columbia also were not represented in the marketing iconography. One First Nations man who was asked to be a participant in the 2010 opening ceremonies, was told when he came to the fitting room in his own traditional regalia, to put them aside and instead done some sort of costume, â€Å"like you see the king and the queen have in Europe – those big long robes that drag on the floor.† It was not remotely authentic at the least. This misrepresentation of the First Nations people doesn’t show the world â€Å"who [they] really are as First Nations people.† When I watched the Olympics opening ceremonies on February 12th 2010, after the original broadcast I felt proud of my country for finally including and celebrating Native peoples in the production. I was also happy that it is the first time that First Nations have been recognized by the International Olympic Committee as official host partners in any games. Take a minute and try to understand the Indigenous plight. This is not something that is so far in the past it has no effect today. It has a very strong effect. Colonization and residential schools has influenced my friend’s father's suicide and has in turn affected her entire life. The pain is still present, it is still here. I would ask that you just listen, and ponder, and learn the real Native history that has been hidden from all of us.