Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Essay Example for Free

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Essay Laotong: type of relationship within the Chinese culture that bonded two girls together for eternity as kindred sisters. Lisa See’s novel, â€Å"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan†, takes us through the journey of 19th- century Chine in which girls had their feet found, meaning crushing their bones to the size of lily flowers. This ritual was considered beauty for a women and a thrilling sensation for men to look at. Staring the binding at the age of six and excruciating painful process that took two years to complete, Lily tells her story as an eighty year old woman. Lily was the second daughter to a poor farming family, but later encounters the privilege to be married out to a wealthy family in the village of Tongkou. Lily was married out to a wealthy noble man, whom she might have loved. But Lily had no bigger love other than her laotong, sworn sister, Snow Flower. The two were matched together at the age of seven, when together they promised each other, through a contract that they would always be laotong. Both endured the agony of footbinding, married out and shared their most inner thoughts and loving ways of motherhood. Lisa See writes delicately, telling the life of these two remarkable girls on their journey to pleasing their husbands, and mother in laws. Love and Friendship keep Snow Flower’s and Lily’s spirits alive when they are not together. Once married out, they didn’t see each other as often as they would have loved to, but their thoughts were jotted down in a silk fan, which included their whole journey together written in nu shu-secret writing for women. Lily and Snow Flower become â€Å"old same†, perfect match. Even though Snow Flower came from a higher family , Snow Flower was married out to a butcher, her first son was weak, and her second passed away. Her husband beats her and her mother in law was cruel. Hoping sympathy from her laotong, Snow Flower gets criticism and â€Å"just keep trying† in return. As Snow Flower arouses new friends, Lily finds this as betrayal; therefore Lily stops any communication with Snow Flower, leaving her devastated, and empty. Even though Lily and Snow Flower experienced happiness, tragedies, and different events, Lily felt betrayed by her laotong so Lily keeps her distance and stops writing back. As Snow Flower’s death approaches Lily goes to Snow Flower and rejoins her, later discovering that Snow Flower did not become a sworn sister, like Lily thought, therefore there was no betrayal. As and eighty year old, Lily remembers Snow Flower. Trying to condemn her mistake Lily watches over Snow Flower’s children, as much as she can like she promised Snow Flower on her death bed. Lily calls out to Snow Flower even after she is dead. â€Å"But if the dead continue to have the needs and desire of the living, then I’m reaching out to Snow Flower†¦. Please hear my words. Please forgive me. † Snow Flower and the Secret Fan keeps the story plot alive, maintaining the theme of love and friendship, always feeling like you are reading Lily’s personal diary. Reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See does a remarkable job of taking you back in time to your childhood friends. I wonder if Lisa See wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan thinking of a close friend as well. Also, I would have loved if somewhere in the book, an entry or a piece of writing from Snow Flower was discovered so we can learn more about her own inner thoughts. In my opinion, this book is full of perfection. Throughout the book I recalled my sister. The bond that we share was very similar to the one of these â€Å"mandarin ducks†. What if Snow Flower’s father had not taken the pipe? Would she and Lily still be matched as soul sisters? Lisa See’s style of writing is a master piece in this book. Like The Washington Post Book World reviewed, â€Å" A triumph on every level, a beautiful, heartbreaking story. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan fascinated me. I recommend this book for the soul that understands what it feels like to love someone as much as you love yourself. Filled with different emotions that make you feel and experience the different obstacles that are brought upon Lily and Snow Flower. It is defiantly a love story. However, it is more than that. It involves friendship, kindness, understanding, and tragedy all in one read. â€Å"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is fascinating. †- The Indianapolis Star.

Case Studies of Organizational Change

Case Studies of Organizational Change CASE BACKGROUND The RTAs approach was to just involve the executive level management and the consultants in the strategy making process without including the middle and lower level management. The approach of the company shows its high level confidence in its top level management and it wants none other those to get involved in the decisions which are of utmost importance to the company and all of its employees (Heathfield). There are both positive and the negative aspects of such a strategy. Taking this change management policy positively, the company wants do not want any kind of issue arising during its process of changing the organizational management to save its time, energy and the focus which is a good decision in itself but if we consider the negative side of this strategy, the company will not have that support from its lower and the middle position employees which is very essential in order to have success in achieving the targets of changing the organization and in the worse case they eve n may fail to accept it at all. ISSUES INVOLVED The concept of organizational change is a wide process aiming at achieving some overall goals and objectives rather than the smaller change. This includes the big changes like the change in mission, restructuring the operations, changes in the technologies, re-engineering, major collaborations, etc. (Basic Context for Organizational Change) Such changes may be regarded as the changes that re-orientate the whole fundamentals in which the organization operates. These changes are the ones which affects the being and the corporate lives of each and everybody in the organization. THEORETICAL UNPINNING OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED In order to achieve certain organizational and group goals, the involvement of those very elements in the organization that are very close to these setting up of goals along with those who are going to be highly affected with that is very important. It can never be expected the one hundred percent support from any employee to support the changes made in his work or way of work who was not involved in the process of decision which will have a long lasting impact on his work. For such changes to succeed the involvement of those individuals whose working is going to get highly effected is very essential. Though it is quite admissible that during the changes, especially the ones which have an effect on the whole organization, the involvement of each and every individual is not possible but it would be highly worthy to try the involvement of the individuals as much as possible from the lower as well as the middle management. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The changes in such a strategy is quite possible with a program that in a way involves these lower and the middle level management too, but not affecting the positive interest of the company for which it was adopted in that way. The changes can be explained as follows: If the role of the middle management as a whole cannot affect the overall decision of the change, at least the involvement of each and every employee in taking the meaningful decisions which involves their own work or the work of their respective unit or group. During the change management process, the suggestion for the changes can be taken from the middle management in the form of survey or the request for the submission of the changes to the executive management or the consultants can be taken. This would not only help the top level management in making the changes but would also involve all the employees in the organization. The suggestions which are found effective enough can be called for the discussion in the conference center and in this way the middle position managers having the considerably effective and the efficient ideas can have a chance to make a big contribution in the change management process. CONCLUSIONS With the certain involvement of the middle or the lower level management in the decisions related to the change management the immense amount of support and the confidence from the employees will be confirmed for such decisions by the executive level management and also with these suggested changes in the process of the change management, Al Ammeri can get his ideas considered and if found feasible by the consultants and the executives he can get those included. Organizational Situation 2: Why is Cultural change so hard? CASE BACKGROUND Fatima Al Hebsi is a student of a Master Degree at BHMeU and her discipline is change course management. In her first interview, she was offered the job as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Organizational Change Consultantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  for an old and well established electric power company. The company is expected to make major organizational changes and now it concerns Fatima how hard it would be to change the major components of the culture being followed in the company over a long period. ISSUES INVOLVED Organizational culture is the set of the guiding tools and the ideology that guides and the interpretations and the actions in any organization. It describes the various attitudes, beliefs, the way of doing the work, psychologies, experiences, etc shared commonly by all the employees in the organization. It is basically the ways and the values followed by each and everybody in the organization whether directly or indirectly related to it. The organizational culture of any organization is highly dependent upon the goals and the objectives of the it and the appropriate kinds of the standards adopted for the needs to achieve those. Actually, these are the norms which lays down the guidelines or the expectations that prescribes the kind of behavior is expected from its employees which controls the behavior of the members of the organization towards each other. THEORETICAL UNPINNINGS OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED The consensus about the concept of organizational culture is bit difficult to understand theoretically, as they are quite holistic, historical involving the various anthropological and socially constructed concepts which are also very much difficult to change. Changing the organizational culture is one of the toughest task in the organizational change as this component of the organization was developed over a long period of time by the interaction and the confidence of its participants in the organization. The current organization culture matches the comfort and the style of its employees especially its executive level managers which ultimately reflects the prevailing management style in which the employees are well settled and used to in that working environment. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION First of all, the need of initiating the change in the organizational culture is itself a big decision which requires some extremely reason or set of reasons. These reasons have to be of the class of significant loss of sales or customers, fear of bankruptcy, or loosing the millions of dollars in the market, etc and for that too blaming the organizational culture itself needs a harsh journey. But after recognizing the organizational culture as the reason for these troubles and there is a need to change the culture the process require a deep understanding and commitment along with certain tools and knowledge. Doing the change itself is not pretty enough and also the changes are not that easy. Before changing its culture the organization must understand its current culture and the values, the way the things are going on in the organization. Once the organization has understood its current culture, the consultant needs to understand what changes or alterations may be required to guide the organization to the success along with taking into the consideration the well being of its employees, stake holders, partners and the others. This should reflect the future mission and the vision in the future and what will be the major steps to achieve that and path to be folled. This needs high degree of the future predictions according to the current scenario. The next step which would be the toughest step is to convince its employees to change their behavior as per the requirements and the needs of the changed organizational culture. CONCLUSION The change management and especially the changes in the prevailing organizational culture may although be a tough task to be accomplished in the light of fact that these cultures have been developed over the long time and it would be difficult for each and every element of the organization to get adapted for these changes. But for a smart and efficient consultant, he/she has to understand the very roots and the soul of these cultures, to get started right from these ends to get the solutions of the issues involved. Organizational Situation Scenario:3 How do you change a complacent organization? CASE BACKGROUD Ahmed Al Shammsi is the CEO of a well established organization Trans-Tech Solutions which is the market leader in manufacturing the avionics components for the commercial airlines. Even though the organization is doing extremely well in the current situation but the CEO is foreseeing the future problems that is bound to occur in the organization for which the acute changes in the management is required in the organization. Now, CEO is finding another issue about how to convince the top managers to go for some of major changes in the organization. ISSUES INVOLVED The current era of fast industrial and business growth, more competition and the need of more innovation has become the utmost important tool for achieving the success and making stability in that success. The change has to be taken as the most important capability of any business operating in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s era without which the organization could not just wish to get the success and get adapted to a changing world. Without the effective and efficient changes required from time to time, the organization is bound to become obsolete some day and eventually die out. THEORITICAL UNPINNING OF THE ISSUES Every organization gets formed on the basis of some ideas and the innovations. They have a distinctive vision with some of those dedicated and devoted people with fresh mind set up to accomplish these very things. Not only the top level management but the organization as a whole have to kept together while making such decisions which as big as the changes in the way they are working, the motive for which they are operating and mission they are acting day and night for the well being of the organization. The settled and the complacent organization like the Trans-Tech Transportation must have started with a fresh idea through which they grew into a market leader and reached a certain level of excellence. But the flexibility is the thing which is required by this corporation to continue as the market leader in the future. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS It is quite possible that the top level managers have become quite matured with enough resistance to the changes but this may become the reason due to which the company may fall on to a senility mode in which the efficiency of the company slows and may even stop causing the ultimate downfall and then die out. Keeping ourselves in the place of Ahmed Al Shamsi, the owner has to convince its managers even though they are the market leaders, they have been doing well enough in achieving its objectives and goals, there excellent performance has been based on their organizational strategies and cultures but the change is the law of nature which applies here as well. They will have to see not only the prospects coming out for the near future but also the far future which would help them to maintain its leadership as long as possible (Theories of Motivation). They will have to keep in mind that they became the leader by replacing somebody and it would not be impossible that some other innova tion may pull them next to the leader. CONCLUSION Based on the analysis of the complacent organization of Trans-Tech Corporation, the top level managers should look forward for looking for some changes based on some exciting and new idea through which the company may continue its strong and fine edge to continue as a firm with solid vision, strong vision with clear objectives for not only the well being of itself or the executive level management but the organization as a whole.

Hobbes International Relations Theory

Hobbes International Relations Theory Is the international system a Hobbesian ‘war of all against all’? The aim of the paper is to examine the influence of the political theory of Thomas Hobbes which in International Relations has been seen as the basis for the realist understanding on the case of â€Å"anarchy† (Heller, 1980, p.21) in the international system. In his work â€Å"Leviathan†, Hobbes provides us with the idea of the man and the state of nature which he link with the political community. Although he has been criticized because some argue that he creates confusion between nature of the man and the political state, Hobbes is seen as an important figure of realism and realist approaches. The essay starts with a brief information about Hobbes and â€Å"Leviathan† followed by a definition of anarchy and anarchy of the international state of nature. Observing the implication of state of nature, anarchy, sovereignty in the international system I will link them with different criticism in order to be able to determine whether or not the international system is a Hobbesian state of war. After the English Civil War, Hobbes wrote â€Å"Leviathan† to warn Englishmen for the consequences of insubordination (Heller, 1980, p21). This led to significant change in the political views of Hobbes. In Chapter 13, as Donelly (2000, p.13) points out, he presents examples of a â€Å"strong† realism. He attempts to model and explain the political relations between the man and the state of nature by describing it as a state of war, where â€Å"every man is against every man† (Hobbes, 1660; Hackety, 1994). In â€Å"Leviathan†, the state of nature is not government and therefore everyone is entitles with the same status which gives the individual the right to do everything without restrictions. However having â€Å"no moral restrains† (Korab-Karpowicz W. Julian, 2013) and also being greedy for goods makes the individuals invade others to gain. Hobbes describes anarchy as a â€Å"condition† where there is no culture, no industry, no knowledge, no account of time but there is a constant fear and violence and the life of man is â€Å"poor, nasty, brutish, and short† (Leviathan Ref). Despite the critical definition, to avoid such â€Å"condition† men have organized in political orders that provide â€Å"a common power to keep them in awe† it is the state of international relations that bring the danger of anarchy (Hobbes, Heller, 1980, p.24). Hobbes says that the â€Å"kings, and persons of sovereign authority† are in constant conflict because of their â€Å"jealousies† (Hobbes Quoted in Heller, 1980, p24). This could be described as a condition of war among states but they do not violate each other constantly. Moreover in relations between states there is no permanent common authority (Heller, 1980) which means that war remains permanent threat. This condition differs from the state of war – â€Å"every man against every man†, because Yurdusev (2006, p315) suggest that in the international state of nature, states uphold the industry of their subjects which frees the individuals from the misery they experience. Hobbes says that man are equal capable to do things, so even â€Å"the weakest can kill the strongestâ€Å"(Hobbes; Heller, 1980, 20-25). In comparison to the men in their nature, state are not equal to each other. United States and Soviet Union work as example because these two states held industry, navigation, culture giving them more power and control over the individuals during the Second World War and The Cold War. Therefore there is a possibility of order by strong states which summarized means that since states are not equal, they would not be equally intolerable (Vincent, 1981; Yurdusey, 2006, p.316). However there is also a possibility that states are equal as men are, because if there was univ ersal nuclear proliferation this would have created the â€Å"equality of fear† giving the chance and capability of a state to â€Å"kill† other state (Gauthier, 1957; Heller, 1980, p.24-27). However, the Hobbesian meaning of â€Å"life† and â€Å"death† could be misunderstood when it comes to states. According to Hobbes (1660; Hackety, 1994), â€Å"life† is the â€Å"artificial soul† which gives â€Å"life and motion to the whole body†. Therefore, states are not killed when a big part of its population and territory are destroyed, but the they loose their sovereign power to make and amend laws (Morgenthau, 1947, Heller, 1980). This condition could be achieved with a minimal amount of force or by threat. States are â€Å"alive† (Heller, 1980) when they are able to maintain its authority over citizens and also the ability to protect them like no other government. Boucher (1998, p.293-95) suggests that state’s actions are easy to predict if motivated by their interests, but on the other hand states follow their momentary interests making them a big threat because we never know when they would attack. For example, Kuwait was i nvaded by Iraq in 1990, on the grounds of interest over Kuwait’s natural resource – petroleum. This proves us again that states have more wants and needs, and that Hobbes’s idea of equality within states does not occur. States are constructed to provide men with internal peace and protect them from external affairs (Yurdusev, 2006, 313). To maintain their sovereignty, they have to protect their rights and their territory. According to Heller (1980, p.26), Hobbes’s condition of equality of ability is â€Å"satisfied† only when the weakest can actually ‘kill’ the strongest state. The idea of universal nuclear proliferation could be furthermore seen as the solution and however bring anarchy within states. With nuclear weapons the weaker states will have the capability to attack the stronger one, but on the other hand it might cause destruction to sovereignty (Heller 1980, 26). For example, if we suppose that a less powerful state as Nicaragua or any Middle East country, are able to obtain nuclear weapons they would actually lay them down in order to gain freedom from the world Leviathan – e.g., United States, Russia. Therefore, until this case of fear exists among stat es, equality of ability and fear would not exists. Life of the state is defined by Hobbes (Leviathan, 1660; Hackety, 1994) as the existing of sovereignty. Since life and state are â€Å"congruent† (Hobbes quoted by Heller, 1980, p.27), survival has been seen as a â€Å"necessary value† (McNeilly, 1968, p.178-81) and death as its ultimate aversion. Simply, while the state works in favor to survive it will achieve its objectives and vice versa, state must accomplish their objectives in order to survive. As Heller (1980, 27) suggests, this calls in question the capability of states to tolerate the state of nature because as it has occurred in the past, whole nations such as Rome, has disappeared. Therefore we cannot argue that the international state of nature has prevailed because it has not been intolerable, but it has been fatal (Heller, 1980) for its victims – Rome. In the international state of nature, the weakest fear from the others because of their low capability to defend themselves. If there is no equality between weak and strong states, then this would further undermine the capacity to state to defend itself (Heller, 1980, 24-26). Strong states have no fear of the weaker states but they do fear the other limited number of strong states because they are enough to â€Å"threaten the survival of any strong state† (Heller, 1980, 27-30). The war against all might exists and torment only the weaker state because they are defenseless. Heller (1980) suggests a situation where one state is stronger than the others, and these other states are trying to improve their position and so the chance to survive. This would lead to the creation of international anarchy where we have on main Leviathan. Leviathan is a â€Å"corporate body† (Williams, 1996, p227) and its strengths are the strengths of the others. It never sleeps or dies making it immortal. As immortal, â€Å"it transcend the limitations that simple individuals encounter in their attempts to survive in the state of nature† (Williams, 1996). Williams (1996) suggests that the result is that â€Å"the radical equality that defines the state of nature composed of individuals is not present in the relations between states†. Therefore since the states and individuals do not have the same conditions, states can use these anarchic qualities among themselves to form more stable form of â€Å"coexistence† (Hobbes; Williams, 1996; Heller, 1980). Despite the continuing absence of the Leviathan in the international system, this absence has not stated an anarchic state of nature. Hobbes present to us the idea that â€Å"the right of sovereigns are designed to ensure the indivisibility and absolute character of the sovereign’s power (Hobbes; Heller, 1980). Furthermore, he adds that the divided sovereignty is no sovereignty at all. Clark and Sohn (Heller 1980, p.25-30) suggest that if a world organization is created, war might be prevented because of the monopoly power and military power which the central law-making power holds. Therefore this idea of a world commonwealth is untenable because it looks at the state as a negotiator between individual men and word sovereignty (Heller 1980). However even though a world organization was created this would have led to a destruction. Hoffmann (1967) presents to us the â€Å"halfway house argument where Goldsmith (Quoted by Heller, 1980) further explains it as if states are to get out of the state of nature, they must agree on the laws of nature. However if states could agree on the laws of nature, there would be no need to get out of the state of nature. (Goldsmith, 1966; Gauthier, 1969) In the international system nowadays there are inter-governmental organizations – formed only from governments, which are similar to the idea of Leviathan. League of Nations and United Nations are organization where security and peace are promoted. They try to establish a â€Å"collective security† (Heller, 1980, p31). In the doctrine of collective security, as Heller (1980) further explains, the states have to â€Å"alienate† their sovereignty and join against aggressive states and participate in implication of restriction on them. However this whole idea of â€Å"collective security† did not really work out well in the League of Nations because it could only work if the states have actually transferred their sovereign power to the â€Å"supra-national† entity. To summarize, we first looked at the implication of Hobbesian theory about the nature of state, the man and anarchy. We saw how this â€Å"condition† of anarchy can differs and how it links with the war against all within the international system. Furthermore, we looked at the meaning of the Hobbesian â€Å"life† and â€Å"death† to the state which helps us to understand why states actions are easy to predict. Boucher (1998) and Heller (1980) has introduced different arguments to explain the concepts of anarchic state of nature and the â€Å"Leviathan† and the link between them. However Hoffmans (1967) â€Å"halfway house† argument clearly proves that the international anarchy wants to overtake the states sovereignty. Bibliography: Boucher: ‘Intercommunity and International Relations in the Political Philosophy of Hobbes’, KRIR, pp 145-169 Goldsmith, M.M. â€Å"Hobbess Science of Politics†; Columbia University Press, 1966 Heller, Mark A.; The Use Abuse of Hobbes: The State of Nature in International Relations; â€Å"Polityâ€Å" Vol. 13, No. 1 (Autumn, 1980), pp. 21-32 ;Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals; Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3234689; Accessed on 8/03/2014 Hobbes, Thomas, 1660,Leviathan, Edwin Curley (ed.), Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994. Hoffmann, Stanley (1967) â€Å"The State of War: Essays in the Theory and Practice of International Politics† ;Review by:K. J. Holsti; The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science / Revue canadienne dEconomique et de Science politique, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Feb., 1967) , pp. 161-163; Published by:Wileyon behalf ofCanadian Economics Association; Article DOI: 10.2307/139882; Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/139882 Accessed on 09/03/2014 Korab-Karpowicz, W. Julian, Political Realism in International Relations,The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Summer 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta(ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/realism-intl-relations/>. Accessed on 09/03/2014 Moloney Pat (2011). Hobbes, Savagery, and International Anarchy. American Political Science Review, 105, pp 189-204. doi:10.1017/S0003055410000511. Accessed on: 10/03/2014 Morgenthau, Hans J. â€Å"Scientific Man vs. Power Politics† ;Review by:William Anderson Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 250, Communication and Social Action (Mar., 1947) , pp. 135-136 Published by:Sage Publications, Inc.in association with theAmerican Academy of Political and Social Science Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1024662 Accessed on 10/03/2014 Malcolm, Noel (2004):Aspects of Hobbes, Oxford: Oxford University Press URL: https://www-dawsonera-com.ezproxy01.rhul.ac.uk/abstract/9780191529986 Accessed on 08/03/2014 Martinich (2005) Leviathan, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 13:2, 349-359, DOI: 10.1080/09608780500093277 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09608780500093277 Accessed on 09/03/2014 Yurdusev, A.Nuri Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 305/321, June 2006 URL: http://www3.dogus.edu.tr/cerdem/images/Political%20Thought/Thomas%20Hobbes%20and%20international%20relations%20from%20realism%20to%20rationalism.pdf Accessed on 8/03/2014 Williams, Michael C. (1996). Hobbes and international relations: a reconsideration. International Organization, 50, pp 213-236 doi:10.1017/S002081830002854X Accessed on 09/03/2014

What is Philosophy? :: essays research papers

What is Philosophy?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that Philosophy is the study of different ways of thinking. In philosophy, you should question everything and never take anything for face value. There are always two sides to every coin as there are different ways of looking at things, is what philosophy teaches us. In philosophy, you must throw off all the limitations you have set on yourself when dealing with how you view things and how things seem to be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reality is a big topic of discussion in philosophy. How you view things may not be how they really are. A schitzophrenicÕs reality is different from the reality of a Ã’saneÓ persons. Therefore I deem reality to be based on experiences, and perceptions. Something you deem to be wrong may be the same thing your friend deems to be right. So does this mean that there really is no one true reality?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Philosophy, we learn that it is okay to doubt things that occur in our lives. It is not only okay but it is a natural response to something you are unclear or uncertain about. Sometimes, though, the build-up of doubt becomes too much for someone to handle so they become suicidal or just give up trying to think about it all together. When this happens, there is a tendency to become cynical, and this is a tragedy because then you feel like nothing is really worth trying to figure out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of philosophy deals with the Ã’selfÓ. People are always trying to find out who they are; why theyÕre here; or how things relate to them. All of our lives are spent on a road of self discovery, seeing what the world has to offer us, and where our place really is. If we were to actually look closely, we would see that   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  page 2 we knew who we were all along, we just didnÕt realize it.

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy Essay -- essays papers

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy For the American people, John F. Kennedy was the bright future. He was a young man that they was as holding the torch for this country. When he was elected, he brought youth and a relaing calm to the White House for the first time in our nation's history. Not only did John Kennedy bring youth to our nation's capitol, but he also brought change and new ideas to improve the nation. During his first term in office, Kennedy improved peace talks with the Soviet Union, and was also working on ideas to halt the Vietnam War; however, his work could not be done in a single term as president. Kennedy had to start campaigning for reelection, and decided to make a trip to Dallas to campaign. The President arrived in Dallas to a crowd of elated people lining the streets hoping to get a glimpse of the President. As his motorcade proceeded down Elm Street, Governor Connally's wife said, "You can't say that Dallas isn't friendly to you today Mr. President." (Untied Press International 14) With that, John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States was assassinated .November 22, 1963 would be the day Camelot would come crumbling down. Our nation and the people all over the world mourned the death of our young and inspiring President. It has been thirty years since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and many people are still uncertain as to who is actually responsible for his assassination. Over the years there have been numerous theories that the CIA and the FBI were somehow linked to the assassination. Most of these theories have been disproven by other theories. The government's theory is that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald's past may answer some questions as to why he is considered to be the assassin of John Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald was born on October 18, 1939, to a lower- middle class family. Oswald's father died two months before he was born; this left Oswald to be taken care of by only his mother, Marguerite. Marguerite had a hard time dealing with the death of Lee's Father, which left her all alone to raise Lee and his two brothers, Robert Oswald and John Pic, a son from her first marriage (Beck 71). Marguerite checked Robert and John into an orphanage so that she could find work for her family. Marguerite wanted to put Lee into an orp... ...it because he was in a state of despair from being shunned by his wife. A third reason, which I believe played a large role is that maybe Oswald did it to get the attention of the Cubans and the Soviets, who in no way, shape, or form cared for Kennedy. By doing this he may have hoped to be allowed into Cuba. References Beck, Melinda. "The Mind Of The Assassin." Newsweek . November 22, 1993. Cockburn, Alexander. "In Defense Of The Warren Commission." The Nation . March 9, 1992. JFK . Directed by Oliver Stone. With Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, and Joe Pesci. Warner Brothers: 1991. Parshall, Gerald. "The Man With A Deadly Smirk." US News And World Report . August 30-September 6, 1993. Posner, Gerald. "Sniper's Nest." US News And World Report . August 30- September 6,1993. Posner, Gerald. Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and The Assassination of JFK . New York: Random House, 1993. United Press International and American Heritage Magazine Four Days: A Historical record Of The Death Of President Kennedy . New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1993. The Warren Report . President's Commission On The Assassination of President Kennedy: Associated Press.

Governance Failure at Satyam

Analyzing the first aspect listed above, seems that Astray scandal originated, in first lace, due to a lack of moral and ethical standards from the company top management, as well as the board of directors, which have worsened, rather than mitigate, agency conflicts between shareholders and managers. Many were the evidences In this sense, from the bribery charges, that led to a ban from the World Bank, to the unsuccessful attempt to acquire a construction and a real state firms owned by the company promoters' relatives, in a clear sign of conflict of interests, that was originally approved by the board.In fact, if was not for the whistler's, no en knows how far they would go with the sham. Someone could argue that an exacerbated focus on short-term performance, the competitive market environment, and consequent pressure from analysts to meet market projections and maintain the company share prices overvalued, motivated the directors to start the results embezzlement process, pledging to do this to protect the firm from a potential hostile takeover.However, obviously none of these should be an excuse to neglect their duties towards various stakeholders. Besides this, it is difficult to believe that none of hose involved in the fraud did not earn any personal financial benefit, as stated by Mr.. Raja on his letter. Even that they did not have sold their stocks position, most likely their compensation package was more generous than It should have been, once misrepresented results excelled market expectations through the years.In fact, analyzing the evolution of promoters' stake in the company over the years indicates that they enriched at the cost of outside shareholders. Regarding the failures In control functions ? Internal Controls, External Audit and the Board of Directors ? we would analyze each level separately. The internal audit and other internal control functions, such as controllers and compliance, were clearly very ineffective but, despite their import ance, I will focus the analysis on the other two levels.From the external auditors' perspective, It Is difficult to understand how PWS did not raise any â€Å"red flag† with such an elementary fraud as cash balances misstatement. Any reasonable company would either invest this large cash in projects or distribute as dividends to the shareholders, instead of retaining it. Specifically this point could be easily validated through a reconciliation against a statement Independently received from the bank.This is a strong evidence, as the case suggests when highlight the increment In audit fees, they were in collusion with company management in executing the fraud. A good practice that could mitigate the risk of this happen is a mandatory external audit rotation, as determined by Serbians-Solely, Implemented In US after Enron scandal. Finally, the board of directors failed under any aspect of their fiduciary duties – loyalty, care and supervision.There are several evidences they were 1 OFF ineffectiveness of the audit committee during the years the fraud took place is one of these evidences. Another one was the prompt approval of the merger proposal without further background check. To prevent these issues, some measures such as to have audit committee composed only with independent directors, and set in place proper channels to report misconduct by anyone in the company could be implemented. Besides, the role of independent directors may be revised on a regulatory level, expanding civil and criminal liability over those.

Martin Luther King Essay

â€Å"I have a dream that one day my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character† (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). These wise and upholding words of confidence and determination changed the face of America during a time of hate and discrimination. King’s inspirational leadership and speeches helped make a local bus protest into a historical event (â€Å"King, Martin Luther Jr.†) He gathered thousands of people, both black and white, to many encouraging protests and meetings to bring a hateful and racist world to peace. His strategy of â€Å"encouraging nonviolent protest and interracial cooperation helped him to fight effectively again the southern system† (King, Martin Luther Jr.†). These strategies were also based on the belief of Indian pacifist Mohandas Gandhi. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ambition to seek a perfect world was extravagant; he will always be in the minds and hearts of Americans in years to come. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). His birth name was Michael, but he later changed it to Martin (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). His parent’s names were Alberta and Martin Luther King, Sr. Alberta was a homemaker and Martin Sr. was a minister (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). Martin Jr. also had an older sister, named Christine, and a younger brother, named Alfred Rogers 2 (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.). Young Martin grew up in Atlanta to a very loving family highly devoted to service and faith. When Martin was young, he first encountered racism when his friends’ mother (who was white) did not allow him to play with her white son (Darby 8). Martin was too young to understand completely the meaning of why he was not allowed but the message he was simple, blacks were different from whites (Darby 9). Martin’s knowledge was known at a young age. He began reading at a very early age; his favorite books were about black history and the people who made it (Darby 13). He went to school at local segregated schools in Atlanta. He went to school when he was only five years old, but at the time it was only legal for kids to start school at the age of six. After officials found this out, he was forced to wait another year and start again. Martin attended Young Street Elementary and David Elementary Schools. When Martin was a junior in high school he was taking college exams that showed how advanced he was (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). He was able to go to college at the age of fifteen, skipping two years of high school. Martin attended Morehouse College, an all boy’s school and one of the finest black colleges in the country at the time. He studied sociology and received his bachelor’s degree Morehouse in 1948 (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). At the time Martin was thinking about becoming a minister. His father being a key role model on his decision to become a minister, he described his decision as an â€Å"inner urge,† calling him to â€Å"serve God and humanity (Carson 501). He was ordained during his final semester at Morehouse (Carson 502). At this time and point in his life, this is also where Martin began to precede his first steps towards his political spotlight. After departing Morehouse, King increased his understanding of liberal Christian thoughts while attending Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania from 1948 to 1951 (Carson 502). King had interest in Reinhold Niebuhr neorthodoxy which emphasized the impact of social evil. Martin added he didn’t begin a quest or method to eliminate social evil until he attended Crozer (Darby 20). Even as he continued to question and modify his own religious belief, he was performing outstandingly and graduated at the top of his class (Carson 502). He won the Plafker Award for the most outstanding student and received the J. Luis Crozer fellowship to study at any university of his choice (Darby 21). His parents gave him and hug and bought him a brand new Chevy. After graduating from Crozer, King began his doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University in School of Theology (Carson 502). The paper King had written during his time at Boston University had showed little originality but much plagiarism but had also formulated a decent perspective (Carson 502). By the time King had completed his doctoral studies in 1955, King had a strong view upon a wide range of theological and philosophical texts to express his views with precise information (Carson 502). His new and increased theological insights became known as he expanded his preaching activities at local Boston churches where he had assisted his father at masses. Also during King’s stay in Boston, he had met Coretta Scott, an Alabama born Antioch graduate who was then a student at the New England Conservatory of Music (Carson 502). On June 18, 1953, the students were married in Marion, Alabama, where Coretta’s family lived (Carson 502). During the following academic year, King began work on his dissertation which he completed during the spring of 1955. Thus finishing his dissertation, he was awarded a doctorate (Ph.D.) I theology and became Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Darby 23). Although he had thought about pursing an academic career, King decided to accept an offer to become the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama (Carson 502). In 1955, King was selected by the Montgomery Improvement Association to protest the arrest of NAACP official Rosa Parks for refusing to give her bus seat up to a white man (Carson 502). With King as their leader, the association led a year long boycott. King gained his leadership abilities through his religious background to gradually form a strategy that involved black churches to gain white support (Carson 502). Many of King’s beliefs were also mixed with the concepts on Indian pacifist leader Mohandas Gandhi to enforce non-violence during his protests. During King’s speech at a local segregated black church, he had gathered four thousand people to hear the story of Rosa Parks (Darby 34). After Martin’s speech, people cheered and stomped their feet as their reaction. The Civil Rights Movement had begun with King as their leader (Darby 35). King had led the MIA’s plan to the use of blacks not using buses until they were legal to have the right to sit anywhere they would please. During the time when blacks did not ride buses, Martin would preach too many to â€Å"not boast or brag,† and if struck, â€Å"do not strike back† (Darby 43). One evening Martin was pulled over by an officer on his way home, he said he was speeding (Darby 29). The officer had told Martin that he was to be taken to the Montgomery Police, but the way he was taking him was a way through Klansman land. Klansman land was where many African Americans were taken, beaten, and hung without anybody knowing (Darby 40). Martin was very scared but soon relieved after seeing the sign: Montgomery Jail ahead (Darby 40). King was soon released from jail too good news; Alabama had passed the new desegregation law, this meant victory for the blacks and the beginning of change for both races (Darby 42). With the victory, Martin cautioned black people to accept their victory with dignity and to resist violence. When King had time away from his social life, he liked spending time with his three kids. Spending time with his kids had made him stronger and more ready mentally for what was to come (Darby 61). King’s campaign to end segregation at lunch counters and in hiring practices drew nationwide attention when police turned dogs and five horses onto demonstrators (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). King was jailed with hundreds of supporters, many of them being schoolchildren (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). After being released from prison, Martin and other Civil Rights Leaders began organizing the historic march in Washington D.C. A mix of races of about 200,000 gathered peacefully at the Lincoln Memorial to demand equal justice for all citizens (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). Here crowds were  intrigued by King’s uplifting â€Å"I have a Dream† speech (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). His speech emphasized his faith that all men, someday, would be brothers (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). His speech encouraged national opinion that resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). The act enforced desegregation of public accommodation and outlawing discrimination in public owned facilities (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). The eventful year awarded King the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in December. Opposition hit within the Civil Rights movement during March of 1965 at a demonstration in Selma, Alabama. The opposition was aimed at giving blacks federal voting rights that would provide legal support for the African Americans in the south (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). King organized the initial march from Selma to the state capital in Montgomery but did not lead it himself. The marchers were turned back with tear gas and night sticks. Determined for a second march, King set out with fifteen hundred marchers, black and white until the group came to a barrage of state troopers. Instead of forcing a confrontation, he led his followers to kneel and pray then unexpectedly turn back (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). The country was amazed by there actions resulting in the passage of Voting Rights of 1965 (â€Å"Martin Luther King Jr.†). In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the civil rights movement (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). His ideas were based from Gandhi in the organization. In a period from 1957-1968, King traveled our six million miles and spoke over twenty five hundred times (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). He was arrested at least twenty times (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). He was assaulted at least four times (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). He was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963 (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). His strategy of encouraging nonviolent protest and interracial cooperation enabled him to fight against the Southern system (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). King’s inspirational leadership and his speeches helped to evaluate a local bus protest into a historical event (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). He was not only the symbolic leader of African Americans but also a world figure. He was the youngest man ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (thirty five years of age). He also turned down the prize money of $54, 123 and it would go to the civil rights movement. He delivered his famous speech of â€Å"I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,† April 3, 1968 (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). This had been King’s last speech. At 6:01 p.m. of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he lead a protest for striking sanitation workers, he was assassinated (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr.†). Martin was a man, he was not God. His charismatic and powerful way of speaking had changed American lives until present day. He was a man of vision and determination. He was often overworked and overtired, but this had never stopped him of dreaming what could be.