Role of Culture free essay sample

Cultural values, beliefs, and traditions significantly affect family life. Cultures are more than language, dress, and food customs. Cultural groups may share race, ethnicity, or nationality, but they also arise from cleavages of generation, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, ability and disability, political and religious affiliation, language, and gender to name only a few. Two things are essential to remember about cultures: they are always changing, and they relate to the symbolic dimension of life. The symbolic dimension is the place where we are constantly making meaning and enacting our identities. Cultural messages from the groups we belong to give us information about what is meaningful or important, and who we are in the world and in relation to others our identities. Cultural messages, simply, are what everyone in a group knows that outsiders do not know. They are the water fish swim in, unaware of its effect on their vision. They are a series of lenses that shape what we see and dont see, how we perceive and interpret, and where we draw boundaries. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Culture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In shaping our values, cultures contain starting points and currencies[1]. Starting points are those places it is natural to begin, whether with individual or group concerns, with the big picture or particularities. Currencies are those things we care about that influence and shape our interactions with others. | How Cultures Work Though largely below the surface, cultures are a shifting, dynamic set of starting points that orient us in particular ways and away from other directions. Each of us belongs to multiple cultures that give us messages about what is normal, appropriate, and expected. When others do not meet our expectations, it is often a cue that our cultural expectations are different. We may mistake differences between others and us for evidence of bad faith or lack of common sense on the part of others, not realizing that common sense is also cultural. What is common to one group may seem strange, counterintuitive, or wrong to another. Cultural messages shape our understandings of relationships, and of how to deal with the conflict and harmony that are always present whenever two or more people come together. Writing about or working across cultures is complicated, but not impossible. Here are some complications in working with cultural dimensions of conflict, and the implications that flow from them:Culture is constantly in flux as conditions change, cultural groups adapt in dynamic and sometimes unpredictable ways. Culture is largely below the surface, influencing identities and meaning-making, or who we believe ourselves to be and what we care about it is not easy to access these symbolic levels since they are largely outside our awareness. Cultural influences and identities become important depending on context. When an aspect of cultural identity is threatened or misunderstood, it may become relatively more important than other cultural identities and this fixed, narrow identity may become the focus of stereotyping negative projection, and conflict. This is a very common situation in intractable conflicts. Since culture is so closely related to our identities (who we think we are), and the ways we make meaning (what is important to us and how), it is always a factor in conflict. Cultural awareness leads us to apply the Platinum Rule in place of the Golden Rule. Rather than the maxim Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, the Platinum Rule advises: Do unto others as they would have you do unto them. Cultures are embedded in every conflict because conflicts arise in human relationships. Cultures affect the ways we name, frame, blame, and attempt to tame conflicts. Whether a conflict exists at all is a cultural question. In an interview conducted in Canada, an elderly Chinese man indicated he had experienced no conflict at all for the previous 40 years. [2] Among the possible reasons for his denial was a cultural preference to see the world through lenses of harmony rather than conflict, as encouraged by his Confucian upbringing. Labeling some of our interactions as conflicts and analyzing them into smaller component parts is a distinctly Western approach that may obscure other aspects of relationships. Culture is always a factor in conflict, whether it plays a central role or influences it subtly and gently. For any conflict that touches us where it matters, where we make meaning and hold our identities, there is always a cultural component. Intractable conflicts like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir are not just about territorial, boundary, and sovereignty issues they are also about acknowledgement, representation, and legitimization of different identities and ways of living, being, and making meaning. Conflicts between teenagers and parents are shaped by generational culture, and conflicts between spouses or partners are influenced by gender culture. In organizations, conflicts arising from different disciplinary cultures escalate tensions between co-workers, creating strained or inaccurate communication and stressed relationships. Culture permeates conflict no matter what sometimes pushing forth with intensity, other times quietly snaking along, hardly announcing its presence until surprised people nearly stumble on it. Culture is inextricable from conflict, though it does not cause it. When differences surface in families, organizations, or communities, culture is always present, shaping perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes. When the cultural groups we belong to are a large majority in our community or nation, we are less likely to be aware of the content of the messages they send us. Cultures shared by dominant groups often seem to be natural, normal the way things are done. We only notice the effect of cultures that are different from our own, attending to behaviors that we label exotic or strange. Though culture is intertwined with conflict, some approaches to conflict resolution minimize cultural issues and influences. Since culture is like an iceberg largely submerged it is important to include it in our analyses and interventions. Icebergs unacknowledged can be dangerous, and it is impossible to make choices about them if we dont know their size or place. Acknowledging culture and bringing cultural fluency to conflicts can help all kinds of people make more intentional, adaptive choices. Given cultures important role in conflicts, what should be done to keep it in mind and include it in response plans? Cultures may act like temperamental children: complicated, elusive, and difficult to predict. Unless we develop comfort with culture as an integral part of conflict, we may find ourselves tangled in its net of complexity, limited by our own cultural lenses. Cultural fluency is a key tool for disentangling and managing multilayered, cultural conflicts. Cultural fluency means familiarity with cultures: their natures, how they work, and ways they intertwine with our relationships in times of conflict and harmony. Cultural fluency means awareness of several dimensions of culture, including * Communication, * Ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict, * Approaches to meaning making, * Identities and roles. Each of these is described in more detail below. As people communicate, they move along a continuum between high- and low-context. Depending on the kind of relationship, the context, and the purpose of communication, they may be more or less explicit and direct. In close relationships, communication shorthand is often used, which makes communication opaque to outsiders but perfectly clear to the parties. With strangers, the same people may choose low-context communication. Low- and high-context communication refers not only to individual communication strategies, but may be used to understand cultural groups. Generally, Western cultures tend to gravitate toward low-context starting points, while Eastern and Southern cultures tend to high-context communication. Within these huge categories, there are important differences and many variations. Where high-context communication tends to be featured, it is useful to pay specific attention to nonverbal cues and the behavior of others who may know more of the unstated rules governing the communication. Where low-context communication is the norm, directness is likely to be expected in return. There are many other ways that communication varies across cultures. Ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict vary across cultural boundaries. As the example of the elderly Chinese interviewee illustrates, not everyone agrees on what constitutes a conflict. For those accustomed to subdued, calm discussion, an emotional exchange among family members may seem a threatening conflict. The family members themselves may look at their exchange as a normal and desirable airing of differing views. These are just some of the ways that taming conflict varies across cultures. Third parties may use different strategies with quite different goals, depending on their cultural sense of what is needed. In multicultural contexts, parties expectations of how conflict should be addressed may vary, further escalating an existing conflict. Approaches to meaning-making also vary across cultures. Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars suggest that people have a range of starting points for making sense of their lives, including: * universalist (favoring rules, laws, and generalizations) and particularist (favoring exceptions, relations, and contextual evaluation) * specificity (preferring explicit definitions, breaking down wholes into component parts, and measurable results) and diffuseness (focusing on patterns, the big picture, and process over outcome) * inner direction (sees virtue in individuals who strive to realize their conscious purpose) and outer direction (where virtue is outside each of us in natural rhythms, nature, beauty, and relationships) * synchronous time (cyclical and spiraling) and sequential time (linear and unidirectional). 5] When we dont understand that others may have quite different starting points, conflict is more likely to occur and to escalate. Even though the starting points themselves are neutral, negative motives are easily attributed to someone who begins from a different end of the continuum. [6]For example, when First Nations people sit down with government representatives to negotiate land claims in Canada or Australia, different ideas of time may make it difficult to establish rapport and make progress. First Nations people tend to see time as stretching forward and back, binding them in relationship with seven generations in both directions. Their actions and choices in the present are thus relevant to history and to their progeny. Government negotiators acculturated to Western European ideas of time may find the telling of historical tales and the consideration of projections generations into the future tedious and irrelevant unless they understand the variations in the way time is understood by First Nations people. Of course, this example draws on generalizations that may or may not apply in a particular situation. There are many different Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and elsewhere. Each has a distinct culture, and these cultures have different relationships to time, different ideas about negotiation, and unique identities. Government negotiators may also have a range of ethno cultural identities, and may not fit the stereotype of the woman or man in a hurry, with a measured, pressured orientation toward time. Examples can also be drawn from the other three dimensions identified by Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars. When an intractable conflict has been ongoing for years or even generations, should there be recourse to international standards and interveners, or local rules and practices? Those favoring a universalist starting point are more likely to prefer international intervention and the setting of international standards. Particularlists will be more comfortable with a tailor-made, home-grown approach than with the imposition of general rules that may or may not fit their needs and context. Specificity and diffuseness also lead to conflict and conflict escalation in many instances. People, who speak in specifics, looking for practical solutions to challenges that can be implemented and measured, may find those who focus on process, feelings, and the big picture obstructionist and frustrating. On the other hand, those whose starting points are diffuse are more apt to catch the flaw in the sum that is not easy to detect by looking at the component parts, and to see the context into which specific ideas must fit. Inner-directed people tend to feel confident that they can affect change, believing that they are the masters of their fate, the captains of their souls. They focus more on product than process. Imagine their frustration when faced with outer-directed people, whose attention goes to nurturing relationships, living in harmony with nature, going with the flow, and paying attention to processes rather than products. As with each of the above sets of starting points, neither is right or wrong; they are simply different. A focus on process is helpful, but not if it completely fails to ignore outcomes. A focus on outcomes is useful, but it is also important to monitor the tone and direction of the process. Cultural fluency means being aware of different sets of starting points, and having a way to speak in both dialects, helping translate between them when they are making conflict worse. This can be done by storytelling and by the creation of shared stories, stories that are co-constructed to make room for multiple points of view within them. Often, people in conflict tell stories that sound as though both cannot be true. Narrative conflict-resolution approaches help them leave their concern with truth and being right on the sideline for a time, turning their attention instead to stories in which they can both see themselves. Another way to explore meaning making is through metaphors. Metaphors are compact, tightly packaged word pictures that convey a great deal of information in shorthand form. For example, in exploring how a conflict began, one side may talk about its origins being buried in the mists of time before there were boundaries and roads and written laws. The other may see it as the offspring of a vexatious lawsuit begun in 1946. Neither is wrong the issue may well have deep roots, and the lawsuit was surely a part of the evolution of the conflict. As the two sides talk about their metaphors, the more diffuse starting point wrapped up in the mists of time meets the more specific one, attached to a particular legal action. As the two talk, they deepen their understanding of each other in context, and learn more about their respective roles and identities. In collectivist settings, the following values tend to be privileged: * cooperation * filial piety (respect for and deference toward elders) * participation in shared progress * reputation of the group * interdependence In individualist settings, the following values tend to be privileged: * competition * independence * individual achievement * personal growth and fulfillment * self-reliance When individualist and communitarian starting points influence those on either side of a conflict, escalation may result. Individualists may see no problem with no holds barred confrontation, while communitarian counterparts shrink from bringing dishonor or face-loss to their group by behaving in unseemly ways. In the end, one should remember that, as with other patterns described, most people are not purely individualist  or communitarian. Rather, people tend to have individualist or communitarian starting points, depending on ones upbringing, experience, and the context of the situation. Conclusion There is no one-size-fits-all approach to conflict resolution, since culture is always a factor. Cultural fluency is therefore a core competency for those who intervene in conflicts or simply want to function more effectively in their own lives and situations. Cultural fluency involves recognizing and acting respectfully from the knowledge that communication, ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict, approaches to meaning-making, and identities and roles vary across cultures.

Essay on Sleep Essays

Essay on Sleep Essays Essay on Sleep Paper Essay on Sleep Paper Sleep Essay Does anybody ever come home from a long day of work or a hard day at school and only one thing is on your mind. It is probably the greatest feeling on earth, well at least one of the greatest feelings on earth. What am I talking about? I am talking about sleep. Since the beginning of time history is filled with people fascinated with sleep. Does anybody ever think about why we sleep or what goes on to our brains while we sleep? Well before the twentieth century sleep was thought of as just a period of restful inactivity because there was no clear way to study brain activity. But since then the invention of the electroencephalograph by German psychiatrist Hans Berger in the 1920s it gave sleep researchers a tool for studying brain activity. These brain activities that they study are called brain waves. Todays scientist research a number of physical functions during sleep such as eye movements, muscle movements, breathing rate, air flow, pulse, blood pressure, amount of exhaled carbon dioxide, body temperature, and breathing sounds. There are two basic types of sleep. REM sleep also known as rapid eye movement sleep or active sleep, and NREM sleep, or non rapid eye movement sleep, also known as quiet sleep witch is divided into four stages witch I will describe shortly. I will also describe the changes in sleep over our lifespan. While you are preparing for bed you are up and reasonably alert so your brain produces small, fast brain waves called beta brain waves. When your head hits the pillow your muscles begin to relax and your brains electrical activity starts to slow down making the brain produce slower and larger brain waves called alpha brain waves. During this stage you may start to experience odd but realistic s ensations such as your name being called or you feel a falling sensation or maybe you see kaleidoscope-like patterns. These experiences are called hypnagogic hallucinations.

Explain the differences between national income or gross domestic Essay

Explain the differences between national income or gross domestic product and what the state of bhutan in the himalayas calls gr - Essay Example More recently the King of Bhutan has promoted a policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) in opposition to GDP, arguing that the latter did not reflect the important intangible aspects of society and culture such as religious belief, harmony with nature, spiritual peace, and transcendent wisdom. In using GDP only as a measure of national worth and as a guide for planning risks the deterioration of these important intangible aspects globally, and this is most harshly reflected in the destruction of indigenous cultures with philosophical foundations and beliefs different from Western capitalism. II. National Income & GDP Institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, and UN agencies frequently use GDP statistics to determine international aid, finance for development projects, and in the calculation of the distribution of wealth within a society for analysis. These records are drawn from tax accounts primarily as recorded income, leading to the question of differences in accounting standards between nations and the variance of business standards between cultures. Yet, a larger question has developed as to whether GDP as calculated includes the subtle economic and social factors that are important to community welfare. â€Å"Simon Kuznets is best known for his studies of national income and its components. Prior to World War I, measures of GNP were rough guesses, at best. No government agency collected data to compute GNP, and no private economic researcher did so systematically, either. Kuznets changed all that. With work that began in the 1930s and stretched over decades, Kuznets computed national income back to 1869. He broke it down by industry, by final product, and by use. He also measured the distribution of income between rich and poor.† (Econlib, 2011) GDP provides a portrait of the economic activity of a nation by measuring the sum of all economic activity within the sovereign during a given time frame, generally annually. Weight is given to each sector by the total amount of commercial activity involved, but this does not inherently coincide with the hierarchy of values within a society. Instead, it promotes the economic and commercial criteria to the determinant force of national development by defining material prosperity, ever increasing, as the key to a higher standard of living. While in most instances this correlation of economic activity does reflect advanced technological development, improvements in medicine, architecture, public utilities, and the comfort level of society, some critics claim it is not complete or balanced in reflecting the overall values of a culture empirically. Whether or not this can be done is reflected in the debate around Gross National Happiness (GNH), a term instituted by the Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in his coronation address in 1972. III. Gross National Happiness Gross National Happiness is developed from a Buddhist view of the interconnectedness of all life and the need for renunc iation of selfishness and ego in order to cultivate enlightenment. The Buddha taught an Eightfold Path that included interrelated tenets on awareness, morality, behavior, etc. intended to bring about the perfection

Raisin in the Sun - Response Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Raisin in the Sun - Response - Term Paper Example Racial issue was also on the rise during the same period. America began to see a trend of sexual equality. Self supporting women, who were often colored, faced more criticism since they were forced into unconventional gender roles (Weiss, 2000).This shift in gender roles was felt by the citizens of society and is evident in literature and art of that period. A sun Raisin in the sun responds to this gender role conflict in an explicit manner; gender discrimination and role conflict are apparent in dialogues of the male as well as female characters throughout the play. Gender Discrimination and Drift in Gender Roles Portrayed In the Play In the opening act of the play, the main male character of the story, Walter expresses his biased beliefs regarding the opposite sex and his frustration about losing authority in these words: ‘You don’t understand about making men feel like they can do something’. This clearly expresses the conflict and insecurity that the male memb ers in sex role transition face. There are many instances in the play that reflect prejudice against women, for example, at one point, Walter comments on women generally: ‘The world’s most backward nation of women!’ Similarly, stereotyping is also evident in the second act, where Walter is sitting with his friends, talking about women: ‘If there is anybody you cannot persuade to take a larger view of life, it is a woman.’ The play also reflects the biased attitude of male members of the 1950’s society towards a woman seeking a professional education, since it was not in accordance with the typical role. Walter says in the second act: ‘Aint many girls who decide to be a doctor’, and he also mentions in the third act that he clearly wants his sister married as soon as possible and he doesn’t care whether she becomes a doctor or not. The other main male character in the play, Asagai, despite being romantically in love with Wal ter’s sister Bennie, expresses his biased opinion of women in second act by stating ‘Just being loved should be enough for a woman’; implying that a woman should desire nothing more out of life. Female roles in the play are very strong and all three of them express the gender discrimination and sex role conflict in the society via different dialogues. Mama for example despite being a mature and strong willed person, is reluctant to travel alone to Europe and starts comparing herself with stereotyped white women who roam around, unaccompanied by their males. Ruth, Walter’s wife who is a bit more modernized than mama, shows the typical determination of a 1950’s woman by mentioning in the last act, that she will work hard to pay the installments no matter what: ‘I’ll work in all the kitchens of America, ill strap my baby at my back if I have to’. ‘A Raisin in the sun’ also depicts the power and strength of the predeterm ined gender roles. The women themselves find it difficult to place their selves or other women out of that prescribed gender role. Like at one point in the second act of the play, Mama says to her daughter ‘What do you mean by leaving the house looking like this’; which implies that the older woman finds it unconventional that a woman should go out while leaving the house in a mess, while the younger woman thinks it is normal to do so. The frustration of not

Criminology ucr and nibrs crime data Research Paper

Criminology ucr and nibrs crime data - Research Paper Example Secondly, the National Incident-Based Reporting System or NIBRS compiles crime data from law enforcement agencies regarding personal crime occurrences reported to them. The NIBRS is collected from local, regional, state, and federal law enforcement agencies (U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009). The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast the Uniform Crime Report, and the National Incident-Based Reporting System as the primary crime data sources used in the United States. The Uniform Crime Reporting program is an FBI data collection program started in 1929, and it is based on gathering of data on a number of crimes as reported to law enforcement authorities by the victims (U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009). The program documents crime data for the entire nation including the states, counties, the cities, colleges, towns, and even the tribal law-enforcement regions. This widespread recording allows crime assessments between neighboring jurisdictions, especially those with comparable populations. On the other hand, the National Incident Based Reporting System is a crime reporting system that is incident-based for offenses known to the police forces. Hence, any crime incident in which the law enforcement authorities become aware of, an assortment of data are collected regarding that particular incident. The individual law enforcement agencies are then required to include aggregate number of crime occurrences by offense e very month (Akiyama & Nolan, 1999). The UCR reporting categorizes eight crimes to be reported by the agencies, and they include criminal murder, rape, theft, aggravated assault, and burglary. Others include larceny, robbery, and automobile theft. Following the UCR substantial methodological redesign in 1970, the questions under NIBRS were enhanced, so

Crusades in the 14th and 15th Century

Crusades in the 14th and 15th Century To what extent did the idea of crusading remain integral to the chivalric culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries? In the traditional view, the crusades started in the 11th century and ended in the last decade of the 13th. There is much debate, however, surrounding to what extent later crusading activity can indeed be considered crusading, and what role it played in chivalric culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The formation of chivalric culture was no doubt influenced to some extent by crusading ideology. Chivalry is made up of a range of activities, values and attitudes,[1] with crusading itself being viewed as a chivalrous activity and military orders formed during the crusades before the fourteenth century seen by some to be early examples of chivalry.[2] The first crusade gave birth to new ideas of the role of the warrior in Christian society; defence of the faith and reclamation of the Holy Land was, according to the church, the highest task to which a knight could dedicate himself and the 1099 triumph at Jerusalem set the standard for defence of holy places as the highest goal of chivalry.[3] Benedictine theologian and historian, Guibert de Nogent, wrote in the 12th century that God himself had started a holy war to allow knights to seek Gods grace in their wonted habit and in discharge of their own office, and need no longerseek salvation by renouncing the world in the profession of monk,[4] suggesting that crusading elevated knights to positions similar to priests and emphasising the prestigious and highly pious aspect of knighthood. Similarly, crusader poet Aymer de Pegulhan writes that crusading allows the achievement of honour in life and joy in paradise without renouncing our rich garments, our station in life, all that pleases and charms.[5] This idea that crusading brought distinction and recognition was widely understood into the fourteenth century, and features as a common theme in contemporary texts. Chaucers Knight, for example, represents an embodiment of the loftiest chivalric ideals and an idealised aspiration of many fourteenth century English crusaders.[6] In examining the extent to which crusading remained integral to the chivalric culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, one must first examine what is meant by the term crusade. The label crusade was uncommon before the 1700s and, contemporarily, there was no single accepted term; words that suggested travel (often combined with references to Jerusalem, the cross, or the Holy Land) were used, and early sources often labelled participants as pilgrims or simply Christians.[7] It is therefore understandable that what constitutes a crusade is ambiguous and varies between scholars. Constable[8] gives four approaches to defining the crusades: pluralist, traditionalist, generalist, and popularist. Pluralists see papal authorisation as the key criterion for a crusade, irrespective of the nature or location of the conflict,[9] which therefore includes such conflicts as the Alexandrian Crusade‎, Mahdian Crusade‎, Battle of Nicopolis‎, Crusade of Varna, and the Hussite Wars. In a similar vein, generalists see all wars with papal connections fought in defence of Christianity as crusades.[10] Traditionalists, on the other hand, view crusades as expeditions from 1095 to 1291 that aimed to defend or recover the Holy Land, thus dismissing all later activity[11] with some arguing that this would also have been the view held by contemporaries.[12] Similarly, the First Crusade alone is considered a crusade by popularists, who limit this label to conflicts characterised by popular religious upsurges.[13] It is understandable, therefore, that scholars from th ese different schools of thought will have different understandings of the extent to which the idea of crusading remained integral to the chivalric culture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A golden age of crusading,[14] an epoch of crises and confusions, incoherent and diffuse[15] and a Indian summer of crusading[16] have all been used to describe fourteenth century crusading and, indeed, there is much debate surrounding the nature of crusading in this period. The devastating loss of Jerusalem and Acre in the 12th and 13th centuries may have motivated Christians to act and roused them to the reality of Christianitys precarious position in the Levant, and wandering kings such as Peter I de Lusignan and King Leon VI of Cicilian Armenia may have helped remind them of the fortune of fellow Christians in foreign lands.[17] Even with repeated and expensive attempts, the early fourteenth century saw no successful crusades to recover the Holy Land.[18] Despite papal taxation, proposed by the Second Lyons Council, domestic needs of rulers, who accepted taxation insofar as they could benefit from it, meant that they could not support the idea of funds being used by another ruler in the organisation of a recovery crusade.[19] Traditionally, this failure to launch an expedition to the holy land is understood to indicate the end of the age of crusading and an increase in conflict which made difficult the international cooperation needed to launch such an expedition. The early to middle of the fourteenth century was certainly a difficult climate for crusading: the suppression of the Knights Templar had created a sense of confusion and anxiety, joined with a feeling of disenchantment due to the abandonment of attempts to reclaim the Holy Land.[20] Understandably, many nobles at this time regarded crusading with a sense of suspicion and caution, despite family tradition,[21] and financial and political factors upon which crusading relied were affected by plague, the Anglo-French war, and the collapse of the Italian banking houses (upon which papal taxation of the Church depended).[22] These factors make it easy to comprehend why many may have agreed with chronicler Salimbene of Adam that it is not the divine will that the Holy Sepulchre should be recovered.[23] Traditionalists are inclined to label crusading activity in this period as an irrelevant hobby confined to enthusiasts, unimpressive compared to former achievements, far removed from the harsh realities of the age,[24] and little more than an aftermath in crusade history.[25] Indeed, crusading activity in this period was characteristically dissimilar from the general passagia before it; the Holy Land remained out of Christian control, with focus turning less towards seemingly unattainable holy places and more towards the hethenesse (that is, the land of heathens).[26] Despite this shifting focus, religion was, of course, still a major factor in the continuation of crusading activity. According to Huizinga, medieval thought was saturated in every part with conceptions of the Christian faith,[27] and of the ten chivalric commandments assigned by Gaultier in 1883, three are concerned with the church and defence of Christian religion.[28] There was no doubt a strong religious factor in embarking upon crusades in the late Middle Ages. The first and principle glory of the dignity of true chivalry is to fight for the faith according to Philippe de Mezieres;[29] Duke of Bourbon, Louis IIs, motivation for commanding the Al-Mahdiya crusade in 1390 was his similar desire to serve God;[30] wanting to expand Christianity by dedicating himself to Gods service is apparently John of Neverss reason for his enthusiasm for the Nicopolis crusade; [31] and references to the honour of God and the Virgin were made at the Feast of the Pheasant in the mid-fifteenth centur y. Although it is hard, if not impossible, to know an individuals true feelings in regards to faith, chivalric culture continued to emphasise religious piety and the lofty ideals of crusading, and there is no cause to suspect insincerity in such devotion: the knight John de la Ryvere, for example, supposedly abstained from all conflict that he deemed morally unjust whilst on campaign and Robert, Lord Fitzpayn, described a readiness to destroy bodies, friends and wealth for the sake of the crusade.[32] No doubt an image of the sacrifice of Christ was not overlooked in these seemingly martyrlike desires to serve God,[33] and the great suffering involved meant crusading was often regarded as superior to other forms of pilgrimage. 12th century French Dominican friar, Humbert of Romans, for example, believed that crusading represented the highest form of pilgrimage, as crusaders expose themselves to death repeatedly.[34] Furthermore, Mamluks, Turks, and other enemies of Christianity must have seemed worthy targets of retaliation for the suffering of Christ.[35] Furthermore, crusading was also a means of redeeming the soul: in the fourteenth century, atoning for the sins of others, both living and dead, was encouraged of crusaders; concern for salvation of the dead was reflected in 1365 lobbying of the pope for indulgences for those who gave masses in memory of ancestors, and church rites and rituals for the crusades are well attested, such as a specially adapted group of psalms and pra yers inserted between the breaking of the Host and the Pax Domini before communion to invoke divine aid for the Holy Land.[36] Chivalrys religious ideals were not the lone causes of the continued relevance of crusading; reputation and honour were major factors, alongside friendships and loyalties, encouraged by cultural contact between European courts[37] and the fact that crusading allowed a chance for knights to distinguish themselves from rivals. Social and material advancement was a coveted reward for the military prestige associated with crusading; for example, upon his return from Constantinople in 1368, servant of Sir John Mowbray, John Dodenill, was promoted to post of warrener.[38] These factors are reasons for why the idea of crusading remained relevant to chivalric culture in the fourteenth century, and for why the importance of crusading activity in this period should not be overlooked or underestimated. Failure to organise an expedition to reclaim the Holy Land was not due to disinterest on the part of knights, but was instead caused by complex political factors of the time, such as the conflict between England and France, and the papal schism. The challenges of this period may have been discouraging, but it has been argued that, between 1307 and 1399, English knights enjoyed their greatest degree of opportunity and freedom, with shorter crusade service terms and a wide range of war frontiers encouraging an eager response that, according to Guard, can be considered to rival, if not eclipse, the response to crusading in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.[39] For this reason, it is not hard to see why many scholars have labelled the fourteenth c entury a golden age of crusading.[40] Just as fourteenth century crusading differed from early crusading, the fifteenth century saw a further shift, with the September 1396 Nicopolis disaster viewed as a turning point[41] that saw the start of major changes taking place within both crusading and chivalry. Factors such as Henry IV and Vs increased demands for war, and domestic political crises at the end of the fourteenth century meant a reduction in crusading numbers and a decrease in the diversity and range of crusading which had been so characteristic of the previous century.[42] The Lancastrian revolution in the last year of the fourteenth century ended the atmosphere of co-operation and idealism which had supported crusade planning at intermittent times during the fourteenth century and ensured there were no additional attempts at organising a combined Anglo-French expedition. The romantic idea of crusading still held power, though; a desire for the king to eventually reclaim the Holy Land as a seemingly logical prog ression of the 1415 Agincourt victory is presented in the Gesta Henri Quinti, and according to Burgundian chroniclers, Henry V had exchanged crusade vows before the offensive against the Dauphin in 1420.[43] But times had changed and international crusading had come under pressure from many directions. The continuing centralisation of the monarchy and growing debate and criticism regarding the kings duty to act for the greater good assisted an increasingly strong sense of the geographical confines of the crown. Church propaganda and patriotism validated a monopoly on military resources for the war with France, and thus focus was shifted closer to home, which can be seen in the fact that, after Henry V, a king would not fight at the head of an army outside the British isles again until Henry VIII and the Battle of the Spurs in 1513. Crusade opportunities began to dry up. In short, the political and social climate previous to the Nicopolis crusade could not be recovered.[44] In the fifteenth century, crusadings main adversaries became the Ottoman Turks. English knightly traffic to Rhodes and other outpots of Christianity persisted, but their military impact and numbered were minimal and by the end of the Hundred Years War, the audience for which Chaucer and Mezieres had written had largely disappeared.[45] Furthermore, the idea of chivalry as a value system was coming under increased pressure, and the role of the knight in English society was changing, edging towards a less martial occupation. Conventional ideology remained in place but in the first decades of the fifteenth century, decisive changes in the character of contemporary chilvary came to light, with movement away from the dynastic wars of the fourteenth century towards what was formatted as a struggle for the respublica.[46] Concepts of sovereign authority, legitimiate war making and the guiding principles of profit and loss helped shape military expectations, and from the very begin of the Hundred Years War signs of the pressure of standards quite other than those on which chivalry was founded had been apparent. Therefore, in conclusion, it seems that crusading did remain a defining function of chivalric society, particularly in the fourteenth century, which was the so-called golden age of English chivalry. In the fourteenth century, it was a diverse, multifaceted, and vibrant set of practices,[47] which is particularly impressive against the aforementioned backdrop of hindrances and setbacks.[48] Crusading remained integral to chivalric culture in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries because it exemplified so many chivalric ideals, from religious piety to However, it is hard to say to what extent crusading itself is integral to chivalry, as much as its values are. Crusading exemplifies the idea of a pious, sacrificing knight, which is no doubt why it was a popular expression of chivalry in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century, but more recent views do tend to emphasise renewed vitality of this new crusading activity, This new crusading was characterised by its decentralisation and diversity, made up of smaller expeditions not in the Holy Land but on the edges of Europe.[49] Whatever the case, there is a lot to be said for stressing the adaptability, as well as the sheer resilience, of the movement. [50] As a final note, it seems almost wilfully short-sighted to take a traditionalist or generalist view in this matter; to the participants, these crusades must surely have seemed as valid and as crucial as any before them. It is easy to overlook or underestimate their significance in retrospect, and one must remember that, to contemporary minds, recapturing the Holy Land was still an uncertainty. Even if the fighting was not in the Holy Land itself, it surely served the same purpose in the spiritual lives of the participants. Characterised by fighting in the hethenesse, as opposed to the expeditions to holy places that defined early crusades, Bibliography Constable, G. 2001. The Historiography of the Crusades. In Laiou, Angeliki E.; Mottahedeh, Roy P. The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World. 1-22. Crouch, D. 2005. The Birth of Nobility: Constructing Aristocracy in England and France 900-1300 Gaultier, L. 1891. Chivalry: translated by Henry Frith. Guard, T. 2013. Chivalry, Kingship and Crusade: The English Experience in the Fourteenth Century. Hazard, H. W. (ed.) 1975. Chapter One: The Crusade in the Fourteenth Century in The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. 2-26. University of Wisconsin Press . Housley, N. 1992. The Later Crusades, 1274-1580: From Lyons to Alcazar. Oxford University Press. Housley, N. 1999. The Crusading Movement 1274-1700 in Riley-Smith, J (ed) The Oxford History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press. Housley, N. 2017. The Crusade in the Fifteenth Century: Converging and competing cultures. Routledge. Huizinga, J.H. 1938. The Waning of the Middle Ages. London. Kaeuper, R.W. 2009. Holy Warriors: The Religious Ideology of Chivalry Keen, M. 1984. Chivalry. Yale University Press. Keen, M. 1996. Nobles, Knights and Men-at-Arms in the Middle Ages. Bloomsbury. Lock, P. 2006. Routledge Companion to the Crusades. Routledge. Manion, L. The Loss of the Holy Land and Sir Isumbras: Literary Contributions to Fourteenth-Century Crusade Discourse in Speculum. Vol. 85, No. 1 (JANUARY 2010). 65-90. Powell, J.M. 1995. Rereading the Crusades: An Introduction in The International History Review, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Nov., 1995) Riley-Smith, J. 2009. What were the Crusades? Palgrave Macmillan. Saul, N. 2011. Chivalry and Crusading in For Honour and Fame: Chivalry in England 1066-1500. Bodley Head. [1] Keen, 2005. 44-45. [2] Powell, 1995. 667-668. [3] Keen, 1996. 2. [4] Riley-Smith, 2009. 23. [5] Keen, 1996. 2. [6] Saul, 2011. 230. [7] Constable, 2001. 11-12. [8] Constable, 2001. 11-12. [9] Riley-Smith, 2009. 27; Housley, 1992. 2-3. [10] Constable, 2001. 14. [11] Constable, 2001. 12. [12] Housley, 1992. 3. [13] Constable, 2001. 15. [14] Housley, 1992. 402. [15] Guard, 2013. 15. [16] Saul, 2011. 230. [17] Hazard, 1975. 5. [18] Manion, 2010. 65-66. [19] Housley, 1999. 262-264. [20] Housley, 1999. 261. [21] Housley, 1999. 261. [22] Housley, 1999. 261. [23] Housley, 1999. 261. [24] Huizinga, 1938. 87. [25] Housley, 1999. 266. [26] Saul, 2011. 230. [27] Huizinga, 1938. 65. [28] Gaultier, 1891. 26. [29] Keen, 1996. 3. [30] Housley, 1992. 401. [31] Housley, 1999. 261. [32] Guard, 2013. 145. [33] Guard, 2013. 157-158. [34] Kaeuper, 1999. 73. [35] Kaeuper, 1999. 73. [36] Guard, 2013. 154. [37] Guard, 2013. 173. [38] Guard, 2013. 126. [39] Guard, 2013. 208. [40] Housley, 1992. 402. [41] Hazard, 1975. 25; 647. [42] Housley, 1999. 275-276. [43] Guard, 2013. 213. [44] Housley, 1992. 78 [45] Guard, 2013. 213. [46] Guard, 2013. 214. [47] Manion, 2010. 65-66. [48] Housley, 1999. 266. [49] Saul, 2011. 230. [50] Housley, 1999. 266.

Environmentalists Essays -- essays research papers

Bill McKibben and Edward Abbey are both modern environmental writers who have had a noticeable impact on the environmental movement. One of Abbey’s novels, The Monkey Wrench Gang, was an inspirational piece for some of the founders of Earthfirst!, a far-left environmentalist group. McKibben’s most famous novel, The End of Nature (1989), is more widely read than any other nature book since Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring. Abbey, who is commonly associated with the Southwest,a has often been described as possessing a bitter but passionate attitude. A past including careers as a ranger and a firefighter indicate his attachment to the wilderness that he considers “our natural home'; is something very real to him. His concept of “Eco-Defense';, in which he gives environmentalists a right to protect their home, is an original and unique way of thinkng of environmental protectionism. McKibben shows us the damage we have done to the natural world and makes a plea fo r an end. He was born to two journalist parents, married a journalist, and wrote for and edited the The New Yorker . Abbey and McKibben write differently but they are bonded in that they both demand change. Abbey and McKibben would agree that something is wrong with America’s attitude toward the environment. However, Abbey’s writing invites doing battle with those who invade the forests while McKibben simply tries to point out that there is a problem and that something radical must be done to eliminate it at its base. Abbey’s essay, Eco-Defense, and McKibben’s essay, Not So Fast both ask the reader to act radically. However, Abbey writes as if to de-emphasize the radicalism of his solution while McKibben is blunt as he explains that the only sane option is something that is contradictory to societies current values. Both McKibben and Abbey’s audiences have proven them to be effective as persuasive writers. What is it about their writing that makes it work? Abbey’s writing is intended to stir the reader’s instincts. He begins his essay with an example of self-defense in the home. This is something that most people can come together and agree on. Abbey writes, “Self-defense against attack is one of the basic laws not only of human society but of life itself, not only of human life but ... ...rgy conservation are highlighted because they are applicable and are examples of the macro-environmental problem that most people fail to see. The emphasis is not that we have a moral issue to change but that we must. McKibben gives us a journalistic viewpoint, which cannot be ignored. He quotes an interview he had with Al Gore in which Gore said, “The maximum that is politically feasible, even the maximum that is politically imaginable right now, still falls short of the minimum that is scientifically and ecologically necessary.'; If this is true then why do so many people fail to recognize it? McKibben sums it up in one powerful phrase, “Change frightens us';. Abbey and McKibben have influenced the environmental movement in two different ways. Abbey gives those who are already involved some of his passion and has inspired many people to sacrifice for what they come to believe in. It is a hot-blooded brand of environmentalism. McKibben presents us with information that we should not be able to ignore with good conscience, attempting to change our minds without manipulating them. Either way, both writers have been successful in the purpose they are writing for.

Observation Checklist Essay

Philosophy on Education is the belief that the passion to learn, the commitment to succeed, and the motivation to try, is the passage through the core values that a teacher instills to a student, as learning becomes a way of guidance that encourages pupils to improve. It is an educator’s duty to provide an environment that exhibits a multitude of ways for children to engage in the process of learning. When I was a young child, I always wanted to show people the things I have learned through my family, friends, manuals, and teachers. Then, I entered the field of teaching, where I was able to present to an audience of children, various techniques in reading, writing, and arithmetic under the auspices of the head teacher. Let alone, I wanted to help those whom where much more challenge than others. This interest has catapulted me towards the beginning of my career in education. The journey through my past experiences as a teacher assistant foreshadowed my teaching styles. Under the auspices of the certified staff, I was given the opportunity to work in a population that requires an extra bit of patience. In formulating my approach to each class lesson, there was a need to implement hands-on learning as the basis for each work session. An adulating engagement with the student, while promoting encouragement, and confidence in taking tasks has its role in part with the learning process. Once the student becomes self sufficient, then the teaching has effectively accomplish its role. Furthermore, the importance of a teacher making assessments on a student’s capabilities is vital to facilitating education. In the successful grasping of an academic material and its content, being able to have rapport with the students to gain better understanding of their capabilities should intertwine directly with each learning style. Fostering a positive teaching environment requires that the student receives an invitation to participate in a friendly atmosphere. As a proclamation, there should be willingness for each student to express themselves with an utmost pride towards their work and success. In conclusion, my goal as a teacher is to provide to in each and every student with the necessary skills and knowledge so they could succeed on their own. I want to leave a memory of myself as teacher who was not afraid to roll up the sleeves to help another student in any way and influenced others to do the right thing. My colleagues recall me a teacher who regularly participates and who was active to contribute assistance to the school community.

The Triple Threat of Sures

The Triple Threat of Sures The Triple Threat of Sures The Triple Threat of Sures By Maeve Maddox Brad Stolzer wonders about ensure and insure: Am I the only one who struggles with these? Not at all. And while we’re at ensure/insure, let’s throw in assure. All three words are close in origin and meaning. Both assure and ensure came into English in the late 1300s, assure from Old French asseurer, â€Å"to reassure, calm, protect, to render sure, and ensure from Anglo-French enseurer, â€Å"to make sure.† The word insure appeared about 1440 as a variant of ensure. It took on the sense of â€Å"to make safe against loss by payment of premiums† in 1635. Before that, assure had that meaning. In modern usage, insure has won out as the word that has to do with compensation for financial loss. The violinist insured his hands with Lloyd’s. This use of insure applies on both sides of the Atlantic. The confusion that arises with insure vs ensure stems mainly from another definition: â€Å"to make certain that (something) will occur.† For example: We wish to ensure the safety of our passengers. Some speakers of American English would use the spelling â€Å"insure† in this context, but others might, like speakers of British English, write â€Å"ensure.† The AP Stylebook offers these guidelines: Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy. Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, â€Å"we ensure events and insure things. But we assure people that their concerns are being addressed.† Sources: The Associated Press Stylebook The Chicago Manual of Style The Online Etymology Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary The Penguin Writer’s Manual Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Apply to, Apply for, and Apply with16 Misquoted QuotationsHow to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children... and Your CEO

Logistic and supply chain management in retail The WritePass Journal

Logistic and supply chain management in retail Introduction: Logistic and supply chain management in retail Introduction:Background:Supply Chain Management- Definition:Opportunities enabled by Supply Chain ManagementValue-chain Analysis:Research Aim: Methodology:Bibliography:Related Introduction: In today’s rapidly changing business environment particularly in retails industry, there are ever-greater demands being placed on retailer and how they deliver goods (products) and services to their customers quicker, with greater added value, to the correct location, with no relevant inventory position, reduced damage or outdated goods, lost of earning to mention few. However, customers themselves are becoming more sophisticated, wanting more quality, design, innovation, choice, convenience and service, and they customers want to spend less money, effort, time and possibly with no risk. These has force more retailer to adopt continuous improvement, highly competitive and dynamic for survivor and sustainability. Hence, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Logistic and Value Chain management became the main topic for improving efficiency, revenue generation, retain customer loyalty, customer services and satisfy customer’s need. The supply chain in grocery retail industry consists of different departments, ranging from procurement of materials to customer service. Supply chain management means transforming a company’s â€Å"supply chain† into an optimally efficient, customer-satisfying process, where the effectively of the whole supply chain is more important than the effectiveness. Background: Lidl is a German chain of discount grocery stores that operates in numerous countries across Europe, in UK alone Lidl have about 568 outlets / supermarket stores. Lidls largest market is Germany where it competes with fellow German discounter and arch rival Aldi. In reading the paper, one must examine and understand the trend and shifts in retails industry business thinking. It is imperative to know the six major shifts in grocery retails business thinking that may suit Lidl grocery stores. The first shift is from cross-functional integration to cross-enterprise integration. The second: from physical efficiency to market mediation; The third: from supply chain to demand focus; The fourth: from Lidl single-company product design to collaborative, concurrent product, process, and supply-chain design; The fifth: from cost reduction to breakthrough business models; and The sixth from mass market supply to tailored offerings. Each shift entails has its own components whether it be integrating within or integrating across Lidl – the groceries retailer company. Supply Chain Management- Definition: Harrison and Hoek (2011, p.32) defines supply chain management as â€Å"SCM encompasses the planning and controlling of all processes involved in procurement, conversion, transportation and distribution across a supply chain. SCM includes coordination and collaboration between partners (suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, grocery retails outlets and customers). In essence, SCM integrates supply and demand management within and between companies in order to serve to serve the needs of the end-customer.† Supply chain management (SCM), also called logistics network, includes suppliers, industrialized centers, warehouses,   depots or distributions centers, and retail outlets, as well as unprocessed materials, work-in-progress stock, and finished goods that run linking the facilities. SCM is all about having the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time and in the right condition. In general terms, Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the operations of the supply chain with the purpose to satisfy customer requirements as efficiently as possible. Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, finished goods, delivery to various retailer depots / distribution centres and to all retail outlets for consumption. Opportunities enabled by Supply Chain Management These following strategic and competitive areas can be used to their full advantage if a supply chain management system is properly implemented. Fulfillment: Ensuring the right quality and quantity of products are delivered to retail outlet shelves for sale at the right time. This is enabled through efficient communication, ensuring that orders are placed with the appropriate amount of time available to be filled. The supply chain management system also allows retailers to constantly see what is on stock and making sure that the right quantities are ordered to replace stock Womack and Jones (1996) describe the lean enterprise as collaborative form spanning the supply chain and argues that supply chains should be organized around value streams to eliminate waste, responding to the pull of the product through the supply chain by customers, to eliminate stocks by organizing value-creating activities around flow, and further stated that the advantage is also to reduce markets to stable, predictable demand through collaboration and co-operation, rather than the turbulence created by conventional inter-firm competition and aggressive uncoordinated sales promotions. Logistics: Keeping the cost of transporting finished product to their respective outlet as low as possible consistent with safe and reliable delivery. Here the supply chain management system enables retailer to have constant contact with its depot/distribution centre and depots team, which could consist of trucks, trains, or any other mode of transportation. Christopher. M, (2005, p.4) defined â€Å"Logistics is the process of strategically managing the procurement, movement and storage of materials, parts and finished inventory (and the related information flows) through the organization and the marketing channels in such a way that current and future profitability are maximized through the cost-effective fulfillment of orders†. While Piercy (1997) explain that efficient consumer response is based on ‘co-operative partnerships’ between retailers and manufacturers who commit to collaborate in reducing costs in supply chain. Piercy (1997) highlighted efficient cons umer response is a powerful weapon which demonstrably reduces supply-chain costs but criticized for reducing consumer choices and competition and restricting manufacturer strategic development. Charles Dominick (Next Level Purchasing.com President) explains, â€Å"the three types of entities of a supply chain: customers, a producer, and the producers suppliers. The extended supply chain includes customers’ customers and suppliers’ suppliers. SCM oversees and optimizes the processes of acquiring inputs from suppliers (purchasing), converting those inputs into a finished product (production), and delivering those products – or outputs to customers (fulfillment).† Supply chain management strategies were designed to cut the number of suppliers and reduce purchasing costs; but wasn’t to manage supply risk.   Even today, while struggling through a global recession, there is little agreement between buyers and sellers at major manufacturing firms on what constitutes information technology.    There seems to be a universal agreement on what a supply chain is.    Some describe it as a network of autonomous or semi-autonomous business entities collectively responsible for procurement, manufacturing, and distribution activities associated with one or more families of related products.    While reading the passage many consumers are still concerned about what supply chain management really is and how it is applied to its companies. Value-chain Analysis: Porter (1985, p.114) identifies five primary activities which add value to the final output of a retail company: Inbound logistics; Operations; Outbound logistics; Marketing and sales activities and Services. In support of the primary activities of the value-chain, Porter also identified support activities. These are procurement, human resource development, technological development and infrastructure; all these feed into each stage of the primary activities of the value-chain. This value-chain gives room for logistic and supply chain management improvement and provides insight into retails competitors   Figure 1. The Value Chain Lehman and Winer (1991) suggest concentrating the value-chain analysis under five key competitor abilities: Ability to conceive and design; ability to produce; ability to market; ability to finance and ability to manage. Supply chain management is getting a lot of attention in e-business. Why? Because the existing supply chains are mostly outdated for the e-business era, in which inventories and costs must be eliminated wherever they are found. Traditional supply chains were designed in a time of modest competition and slow response time but for retailer such as Lidl to succeed in today’s customer-driven environment, Lidl must emulate Tesco and Sainsbury store and add value to way of delivering online sales and the logistic of supply to each customer in a value-for-money approach. Lidl have to streamline intercompany (manufacturer to Lidl depots/distribution centres) processes just as they do with processes that reside within a Lidl outlet’s boundaries. By reengineering the intercompany supply chain, corporate boundaries are becoming meaningless. The result: enormous payoffs for all partners in the chain. Research Aim: Evaluate Logistics and Supply Chain Management in Grocery Retail Industries in UK and identify where improvement in logistic is possible within retails firm of choice. To also examine the Impact of Supply Chain Management and identify if there is room for improvement Objectives: To investigate whether there is a balance between investing in front-end and back-end (from customer / shop floor to depot/warehouse and to manufacturers) operations. To understand logistics management in Lidl, explore for efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain in modern retail stores that maintain lower inventories than traditional retail. Explore supply chain perspective to help the UK retailers identify superior suppliers and distributors and help them improve productivity, which ultimately brings down the customers costs. Replicate its national supply chain model in UK for global presence, taking into account the unique features of the regional market and emphasize on local sourcing of goods within each outlet. Research Questions: Ques. 1:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why do modern retails stores carry a lower inventory? Ques. 2:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why do effective logistics reduces company and its customer cost in modern retails stores? Ques. 3:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How does modern retail gain a competitive advantage in the application of improved logistics and supply chain management? Methodology: A systems approach was planned for this research. A systems approach presumes an objective reality that can be (more or less) â€Å"discovered†, the systems approach means that the world can be thought of, and divided into different systems. Arbnor and Bjerke (1997, p.111) define a system as a â€Å"set of components and the relations among them†, where a component means e.g. a function or a department in Lidl – the groceries retailer company. The research will involve an explicative study based on the results of a survey, which will be conducted. The questionnaire will be formulate and sent to Lidl groceries retailer’s Head Office and outlets. If very little response is attained from questionnaire, the research will switch quickly to using qualitative methods (primarily face-to-face interviews) with key industry professionals, logistics division and middle to top management. Probably statistical representative of Lidl the grocery retailer company, these interviews when conducted may generate a set of indicative prioritize areas and provide room for improvement. Qualitative study may be more appropriate for this research because the main research will entails a lot of information that may not be quantified, such as the Lidl SCM strategies, logistics versus SCM perspectives, differentiation of services offering and uniqueness features of Lidl (grocery retails firm). Bibliography: Alan Harrison and Remko van Hoek (2011), Logistic Management and Strategy: Competing through the Supply Chain, 4th edition, Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Ronald H. Ballou (2004), Business Logistic’s Management: Planning, Organizing and Controlling the Supply Chain, 5th edition, London: Prentice Hall International. Christopher Martins (2005), Logistic and Supply Chain Management: Creating value-adding network, 3rd edition, NewYork: Financial Times Prentice Hall. David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky, Edith Simchi-Levi (2007): Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies and Case Studies, (3rd Edition) New York: McGraw-Hill, New York, U.S.A. Porter, M. E. (1985), Competitive Advantage – Creating and sustaining superior performance, New York: The Free Press. Lehma, D.R and Winer, R.S. (1991), Analysis for Marketing Planning, 2nd edition, Homewood IL: Irwin. Simchi-Levi, D., P. Kaminsky and E. Simchi-Levi (2004): Managing the Supply Chain: The Definitive Guide for the Supply Chain Professional, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, U.S.A. Monczka, R., Trent, R. and Handfield, R. (2002), Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Knoxville, United States: Thompson Learning. Womack, J. P. and Jones, D. T. (1996), Lean Thinking: Banish waste and create wealth in your corporation, London: Simon and Schuster. Piercy, N. F. (1997), Market-Led Strategic Change: Transforming the process of going to market, 2nd edition, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Arbnor, I. and B. Bjerke (1997), Methodology for creating business knowledge; Thousand Oaks, California, Sage Publications Porter, M. (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York, Free Press. Moss Kanter, R. (1994). Collaborative Advantage: The Art of Alliances. Harvard Business Review, 72 (4) Larson, P. D., R. F. Poist and A. Halldorsson (2007), Perspectives on Logistics vs SCM: A Survey of SCM Professionals. Journal of Business Logistics, 28 (1), pp. 1-24. Charles Dominick; President Chief Procurement Officer, Next Level Purchasing, Inc. www.nextlevelpurchasing.com Arjan J.van Weele (2005), Purchasing and Supply Chain Management: Analysis, Strategy, Planning and Practice, 4th edition, London: Thomson Learning Mentzer, J.T.,   S. Min and Bobbitt. L. (2004), Toward a unified theory of logistics. International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, 34 (8), 606-27

Answer the questions about Game industry and innovation Essay

Answer the questions about Game industry and innovation - Essay Example Demographic factors in the U.S have influenced the operation and success of the Japanese industry in international market especially the U.S (Inafune, 2011). The sex, age, and marital status of the American citizens have different attitudes about imported products because they aim at promoting domestic industry than international companies. Therefore, Japanese game industry needs to merge with American company in order to succeed in the U.S market. In addition, the Japanese industry does not use modern technology like its competitors in the U.S. For instance, Japanese game technology is lurking behind than its competitors in the U.S. It is clear that the technical quality and the user interfaces have been enhanced but some concepts such as the game play and design are the same. This shows luck of originality and innovation. The company only commands ten percent of the external market. For instance, in 2002, the company claimed about 50 percent share of global revenues but it declined in subsequent years because of fierce competition, demographic changes, and poor technology. The key performance indicator of the Japanese game industry is attempting to increase the sales in order to avert considerations like whether to measure value of sales (products). The company should adopt modern technology in order to remain in the market. Taking advantage of the new available and emerging technologies is great (Inafune, 2011). The reality is an issue yet to be solved by most of the organizations. The complexity and cost pin out most small and medium enterprises. Organizational goals achieved by aligning business strategy, culture, process and technology in the business environment improve the effectiveness of the organization. It ensures the balance between the future and the present demands for a sustainable operation of the organization. In a business environment, the degree to which objectives of the organization are achieved can be termed as the

Short case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short case study analysis - Essay Example However, his new policy did not work since operating manager including those in Daniels department continued to hire workers informally. David Hall was hired as a research engineer, and his name was presented to the president by a former vice president of engineering company who was not employed by that time. After three months seagle became suspicious about some irregularities in Hall’s background. Hall’s information about where he had undertaken his graduate and undergraduate engineering course was not true. Hall was very competent in his work, and the personnel did not know the strategy for changing the cart before the horse. SWOT analysis Strengths and weaknesses The company’s strength is seen in the fact that it is expecting an increase in of 200% in sales this is a very good margin. Despite giving false information in his application letter, Hall is a very competent professional and even the president wondered what the company would do without him. Personne l manager is a competent human resource manager since he sees the need for having a centralised policy for hiring and recruiting professionals. ... Identification of major problems The major problem in this case study is implementation of centralised policy of hiring professionals. Even after getting the go ahead of coming up with a new practice in his department, the new policy does not work, and other managers are still interfering with how recruitment and hiring is done. When Hall was being employed there was no formal interview done instead, he was called at a home office where a personal interview was done. This act underrated the personnel manager this he was not included in the interview. The interview was conducted by the president who does not have personnel skills and knowledge instead of the personnel director. Another challenge was the uncertainty of how to handle the critical information in Hall’s personnel file. Hall had shown a lot of competence in his work and the company as doing so well through his good work Significant factors Recruitment is one among the foremost vital elements of human resource manage ment, this function of management help to minimise any potential employee’s problems which may arise in the future. Adopting the centralised method is very vital for the organisation to avoid personal conflicts in terms of duties. Possible courses of action However, if the achievement is not done effectively then this may have wide reaching implications for the organisation future. Screening and talent Matching may be a specialist unit of personnel management function. Normally, the human resource manager should accompany the interview panel with an organisational intention of serving to line managers in creating choices on the quality of the candidates to the organisational culture. A