Monday, September 30, 2019

Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States Essay

There are two types of people in this story. They are the conquerors and the conquered. The communities that Zinn talks about in the story are the Native Americans and the English settlers that came to America. Out of those communities the conquerors were the English settlers and the conquered were the Native Americans. These two communities had similar and different views on topics. One thing that the two viewed differently was how they viewed the land. The Native Americans believed that the land did not belong to one single person, rather they believed that the land belonged to a whole tribe. The English settlers did not feel the same way. The settlers believed that each individual person had the opportunity to own his own land and that he may do whatever he wants to with it. Another difference the two communities had was their views on religion. The Native Americans did not believe in religion. They believed that there was a type of spiritual force that controlled the land. The English settlers did believe in religion. They worshipped gods and executed religious practices. The two groups did have some similarities though. One similarity was language. The two groups both used language to communicate with one another. Another similarity the two had was a law system. They both had punishments set up for the level of crime that someone within their community committed. Those are some similarities and differences between the two communities. â€Å"Chapters 2 and 3† Racism is not natural. Zinn expresses this in the story. There are two things that factor into racism not being natural. Those two things are historical forces and human decisions. Historical forces are certain ideas or movements become irresistible forces that will have their way. One example of this is plantations not having enough people to work on them. The plantation owners had Caucasian slaves but they were few and far to come by. They considered using Native Americans as slaves but they were hard to capture and the owners knew that they would rebel. They eventually turned their attention to the very populous African American group. They went out and captured many African Americans and brought them into slavery. Human decision is a purposeful selection from a set of alternatives. An example of human decision is how they treated the slaves. The owners treated the African American slaves way worse than they treated the Caucasian slaves. They made the penalty for crimes committed by African American slaves far worse than those for a white man that had committed the same crime. The owners also felt that the slaves may rebel. If the plantation was attack the black slaves were not given weapons to defend themselves. This was to prevent them from every feeling in power and to prevent rebellions. These two things both factor into racism, but the main one that creates racism is human decision. Racism is not something that is guaranteed to happen. It was not set in stone that one race would hate another. It takes people to create this feeling. People themselves create this feeling and that is why it is human decision.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Organizational Performance Essay

1) Explain how organizational structure can impact organizational performance. Structures of any kind is important in any situation or career field. Structure provides a sense of accountability to individuals. Rules and guidelines are enforced and adhered to for the purposes of not only attaining control of the workforce but to also ensure every team member has total understanding of their role. Employees are assured their efforts are important to the overall goal of the organization. Structure equates discipline; discipline as well as stern communication is key of any successful business. (Green, 2015) 2) Discuss how organizational culture is shaped and how it influences organizational performance. Organizational structure refers to the way that an organization arranges people and jobs so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met (Droege, 2015). Management should be able to motivate subordinates, and understand each employee’s characteristics. This Intel’s mainly on strengths and weaknesses of an individual. By management understanding the workforce this action enriches the morale of the organization and reinforces positive organization performance. : http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Ob-Or/Organizational-Structure.html#ixzz3SaRfcWdA 3) Discuss the benefits and consequences of organizational politics. Organization politics is dangerous and toxic as any other politics. The motives are perceived as positive but yet somehow yield negative results. This could be brought upon because of many selfish schemes to progress individually or even personal propaganda in which leaves a lot of issues of the people unattended to. Benefits could be of simple nature. Depending upon the complex of the problem, and how many employees it could potent effect. According to†organizational politics can be a nasty business where people promote their own self-interests at the expense of company goals. It can also be secretive, and it can cause us to doubt the intentions of other people† (Witt, L.A. (1998) Witt, L.A. (1998) Enhancing Organizational Goal Congruence: A Solution to Organizational Politics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(4), 666-674. www.businesspsych.org

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Coyote Blue Chapter 25~26

CHAPTER 25 Wheels, Deals, and the Persistance of Visions Las Vegas Calliope sat in her car shivering and watching. She was parked up the street from a Vegas Harley-Davidson shop where she had once gone with Lonnie on a delivery for the Guild. The street was deserted, and dark except for the odd glow of neon in the window of a closed pawnshop. Litter danced in dust devils of desert wind that had grown cold through the night. Calliope curled up in the driver's seat and tried to cover herself with one of Grubb's blankets. The smell that came off the blanket, a mix of sour milk and sweet baby, made her sad, and even though she had stopped breastfeeding months ago, her breasts ached for her son. She caught some motion out of the corner of her eye: two figures coming out of an alley onto the sidewalk: men. They were walking toward the car. Calliope slid down in the driver's seat. The mother instinct, the feeling of righteous invincibility that had filled her when she had come here, was leaking away. Right now she was not protecting her child; she was afraid for herself. As the men approached she saw that they were young toughs, swaggering with their own willingness to violence, even as they staggered from the effect of some drink or drug. She slid farther down in the seat, and when their shadows fell across the car's hood she twisted down and covered herself with Grubb's blanket. She heard their footsteps scrape and stop at the car, heard their voices above her. â€Å"Check out this motherfucker.† â€Å"Some tall dollars here – there's a grand in tires on this thing.† â€Å"Pop the hood.† Calliope heard someone trying to open the door. â€Å"Locked.† â€Å"Hang on a minute, I saw a brick back a ways.† Footsteps away. The car rocked with the continued yanking at the door handle. Calliope could hear the keys swinging in the ignition. The second man was coming back. Her breath caught. She waited for the crash. Sweat trickled down her forehead and dripped onto the gearshift knob. â€Å"No man, not the windshield. You can't drive it with a broken windshield.† â€Å"Oh, right.† Calliope braced herself for the impact of the brick, then something in her mind screamed NO! Her feet were still on the pedals. She pushed the clutch and gas to the floor, reached out from under the blanket, and turned the key. The Z roared to life, thundered, then screamed as she kept the gas to the floor. She sat up and glanced at the two startled men, who were cowering a few feet away. Instantly their surprise turned to anger and the taller of the two raised the brick. Calliope popped the clutch and fought to keep the car straight as the tires burned off on the asphalt. She heard a loud crack behind her and felt splinters of glass hit her from behind. She power-shifted through three gears, turning over the tires and kicking the car sideways with each slam of the shifter. By the time she backed off the gas the speedometer was threatening 110. There was a thumping coming from the engine and a high-pitched wailing coming from somewhere. She looked into the rearview mirror to see the hole in the back window and, behind it, flashing red and blue police lights. She hesitated only long enough to throw Grubb's blanket off her shoulders, then slammed the Z into third, floored it, and said a quick prayer to Kali the Destroyer. -=*=- If Lonnie Ray Inman had ever made the connection that whenever he read the words American Standard, spelled out in cornflower blue against white porcelain, he felt a sudden urge to urinate, he might have understood why Grubb, upon seeing white plastic bundles piled haphazardly on the motel-room floor, crawled doggedly to, and whizzed gleefully on, twenty thousand dollars' worth of methamphetamine. To Grubb, the bundles looked like Pampers, a fine and private place to pee. â€Å"Jesus Christ, Cheryl,† Lonnie yelled. â€Å"He crawled out of his diaper. Can't you keep an eye on him for a fucking minute?† â€Å"Fuck you. You watch him, stud. He's your kid.† Cheryl threw a pillow at Lonnie as she stormed naked into the bathroom. â€Å"You were the one that said you'd make a good mother. Throw me a towel.† Cheryl stood in front of the mirror working her jaw back and forth. â€Å"Get your own towel. I think you fucked up my jaw.† â€Å"I did? I didn't do shit.† â€Å"That's the problem, isn't it?† Cheryl had been lolling Lonnie's limpness around in her mouth for an hour, trying to get a reaction out of him, when she heard a sharp crack in her right ear and felt a painful grating in the back of her jaw. Lonnie grabbed a towel off the rack and went to where Grubb was happily splashing away on the drugs. Lonnie picked up the baby and put him on the bed, then went back to clean off the packages. â€Å"Oh, Christ. Cheryl, clean up the kid, will you?† â€Å"Fuck off.† Lonnie stormed into the bathroom and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back until she was staring up at him. He spoke to her through gritted teeth. â€Å"You clean up the kid now or I'll snap your fucking neck. You understand?† He yanked her head back further. â€Å"I've got to turn this shit early in the morning and then ride to South Dakota, and I need to get some fucking sleep. If I have to kill you to get it I will. You understand?† He relaxed his grip on her hair and she nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes. He dragged her out of the bathroom and threw her on the bed with Grubb, then threw the towel in her face. â€Å"Now clean up the kid.† Lonnie took another towel and wiped each of the packages before packing them into Grubb's diaper bag. Cheryl rolled Grubb over and dried his bottom. â€Å"Last time I take a vacation with you,† she said. â€Å"No gambling, no shows, no fucking. I said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked at him. â€Å"No fu-† The word caught in her throat. He was aiming his pistol at her head. -=*=- Until he saw the orange 280Z rocket by him, the cop thought that the worst thing he was going to have to deal with on this shift was not smoking. He was wearing a patch on his left shoulder that was supposed to feed nicotine into his blood to keep him from craving cigarettes, but the urge to smoke was still there, so he fought it by eating donuts. He'd gained ten pounds in a week, and he was musing over the idea of inventing a donut patch when the sports car roared by him. Out of habit, he butted a half-eaten cruller in the ashtray, hit the lights and siren, and pulled out in pursuit. The Z already had about eight blocks on him and he estimated it was doing about a hundred. He was reaching for the radio to call ahead for help when a black Mercedes pulled out from a side street in front of him. He slammed on the brakes and threw the cruiser sideways, bringing it to a stop not ten feet from impact. The Mercedes was at a dead stop, blocking both lanes. The cop watched the Z's taillights fade in the distance on the other side. He killed the siren and switched the radio to the public address system. â€Å"Get out of the car, now!† He waited but no one got out of the car. In fact, he couldn't see a driver at all, yet the Mercedes was still running. He considered calling for backup, then decided to handle it himself. He stepped out of the cruiser with his gun drawn, careful to stay behind the car door. â€Å"You, in the Mercedes, get out slowly.† He saw something move in the car, but it didn't look like a person. Holding his revolver at ready, he shined his flashlight at the car. Movement, but no driver. He saw three possibilities. The driver was unconscious, or was waiting to peel away when he moved away from the cruiser, or was lying in wait with a shotgun to blow his head off. He decided it would be safest to assume the last, and without further warning he crept to a spot just under the open driver's-side window. He heard a scratching sound just above his head and came up, gun first, to catch a glimpse of the back end of the skunk just as it sprayed him in the face. As he wiped his eyes he heard laughing and the Mercedes pulling away. -=*=- Clyde, owner of Clyde's Cash for Your Car, said, â€Å"No offense, chief, but you don't see many Indians in Mercedes.† He kicked a tire and bent down to look at the lines of the paint job for signs of bodywork, keeping a hand on his head to steady his toupee. â€Å"Looks clean.† â€Å"It's a good car,† Coyote said. Clyde narrowed his eyes and smiled. Clyde had seen a little too much sun in his sixty years and this sly smile, what he used to call his ;gotcha; look, made him look like an old Chinese woman. â€Å"And you have the title, right, chief?† â€Å"Title?† â€Å"That's what I thought.† Clyde stepped up to Coyote, his head about level with the trickster's sternum. â€Å"Are you a policeman, or are you working in the service of any law-enforcement agency?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Well then, let's do some business.† Clyde grinned. â€Å"Now, you and I know that we could fry eggs on this car, am I right? Of course I am. And you're not from around here, or you'd have your own connections and wouldn't be here, am I right? Of course I am. And you don't want to take this car out on the interstate where the state patrol would spot it as hot in a second? No, you don't.† He paused for effect, just to make sure everyone knew he was in control. â€Å"I'll give you five thousand dollars for it.† â€Å"Not enough,† said Coyote. â€Å"Look, this car has a machine that tells you where you are.† Clyde glanced inside the Mercedes at the navigation system, then shrugged. â€Å"Chief, you see all these cars?† Clyde gestured to a dozen cars on his lot. Coyote looked around and nodded. â€Å"Well, all these cars got something that'll tell you where you're at. I call them windows. You look out of 'em. Now, do you want to sell a car?† â€Å"Six thousand,† Coyote said. Clyde crossed his arms and waited, tapped his foot, smiled into the night sky. â€Å"Five,† Coyote said. â€Å"I'll be right back with your money, chief. Can I have my boy give you a lift somewhere?† â€Å"Sure,† Coyote said. Clyde went into his office, a mobile home whose entire side functioned as Clyde's sign. In a moment he returned with a stack of hundreds. He counted them into Coyote's hand. A greasy teenager pulled up in an old Chevy. â€Å"This is Clyde junior,† Clyde said. â€Å"He'll take you wherever you need to go.† â€Å"It's a good car,† Coyote said. He handed the keys to Clyde and climbed into the Chevy. As they pulled away Coyote dug into his medicine pouch and pulled out a small plastic box that had once been on Sam's key ring. He pushed the red button once, and a chirping sound came from under the hood of the Mercedes to signal that the alarm was armed. -=*=- Kiro Yashamoto stood in the corner of the treatment room watching two doctors battle for a man's life. One doctor was young, white, and wore a stethoscope around his neck. He was fighting death with electronic monitors, oxygen, a battery of injected drugs, and a degree from Michigan State. The other doctor was an old Indian man, as wrinkled and weathered as the patient, who fought with prayers, songs, and by blowing on the patient through a mouthful of charcoal. He held no degree, but had been called to healing by the trumpeting of a white elk in the Spirit World. Despite the difference in their methods, the two worked as a team. Kiro could see that they respected each other, and he wished that his children were here to see these two cultures working together not for profit, but out of a common compassion. Alas, he had left them outside in the clinic's small waiting room, and neither of the doctors would allow more people in here. A tall, lanky Indian man dressed in denim stood in the corner opposite Kiro. His hair was cut short and shot with gray. Kiro guessed he was in his sixties, but it was hard to tell with these people. He saw Kiro watching and quietly crossed the room. â€Å"My name is Harlan Hunts Alone,† he said, extending his hand. â€Å"How do you do,† Kiro said. He took Harlan's hand and bowed slightly, then caught himself in the inappropriate gesture and felt embarrassed. Harlan patted Kiro's shoulder. â€Å"Pokey is my brother. I wanted to thank you for bringing him here. The doctor said he would have died without your help.† â€Å"It was nothing,† Kiro said. â€Å"Just the same,† Harlan smiled. The medicine man stopped singing and Harlan quickly turned to him. â€Å"He's gone,† the medicine man said. The white doctor looked at the monitor. A steady blip played across the screen. â€Å"He's fine. His blood pressure's coming up.† â€Å"Not dead,† said the medicine man. â€Å"Gone.† Pokey began mumbling, then speaking. Kiro could not hear what he was saying through the oxygen mask. â€Å"That's not Crow. What is that?† asked the white doctor. â€Å"Navaho,† said the medicine man. â€Å"He doesn't speak Navaho,† Harlan said. â€Å"He doesn't even speak Crow.† â€Å"He doesn't here,† the medicine man said. â€Å"He's not here.† On a stone wall: carvings of dead gods and the shadow of a man with the head of a dog. Pokey looks, but there is no figure casting the shadow. He turns to run. â€Å"Stop,† the shadow says. Pokey stops but does not look back. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"Tell him there is death where he goes.† â€Å"Tell who?† â€Å"The trickster. Tell him. And tell him I am coming back.† â€Å"Who are you?† The shade and the wall are gone. Ahead lie prairies. Pokey runs, calls, â€Å"Old Man Coyote!† â€Å"What? I'm busy. Twice in a few days is too much. Don't talk to me for another forty years.† â€Å"A shadow said to tell you that there is death where you are going.† â€Å"A shadow?† â€Å"A man with the head of a dog. I thought it was you playing a trick on me.† â€Å"Nope. So he said that there is death where I am going. He ought to know. Anything else?† â€Å"He said to tell you that he is coming back.† â€Å"Well, no shit. You have to go, old man. You're dying again.† â€Å"I am?† â€Å"Yeah. Didn't you drink that Kool-Aid I left you?† â€Å"There was no water. Who was-â€Å" â€Å"Go now.† -=*=- The green line went flat. The monitor screeched out an alarm. â€Å"We're losing him,† the doctor said. He grabbed a syringe, filled it with epinephrine, and drove it into Pokey's chest. The medicine man began to sing a death song. CHAPTER 26 Hang with a Horse Thief, Wake Up Walking Las Vegas Minty Fresh was staring at nothing and thinking ;Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah; when the girl behind the desk grabbed his arm, startling him. â€Å"Are you all right?† she said. â€Å"Fine, what is it?† â€Å"God, on the phone, for you.† â€Å"Thank you.† Minty picked up the phone and tried to drive ;Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah; out of his head. â€Å"M.F. here,† he said. â€Å"Your Indian is back in the building, main entrance. Keep an eye on him.† â€Å"Right.† Minty hung up. He checked his watch and realized that he must have been staring for ten minutes before the call. Why couldn't he shake that song? He hadn't heard it since his grandmother had taken him to see Song of the South when he was a child. Grandma had heard the Uncle Remus stories of Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit from her own grandmother, who had been a slave. She said that the stories came with the slaves from West Africa. There, Br'er Rabbit was known as Esau, the trickster. Maybe it was the Indian talking about tricking people that had set it off. Since the Indian had come into the casino, Minty had felt uneasy. It was as if the Indian could look into his soul and see secrets that he himself did not know. He looked up to see the Indian coming through the lobby. Minty smiled. â€Å"Mr. Coyote, you're back.† â€Å"How do you know my name?† Minty was spun by the question. He felt his shell of cool detachment cracking and dropping off like old paint. â€Å"I†¦ I don't know†¦.† â€Å"It's okay,† Coyote said. â€Å"I want everyone to know my name. Not like you. You carry your name like a man with a knife hidden in his boot. You should wear your name like a red bow tie.† â€Å"I'll try to remember that,† Minty said, trying to sound patronizing. If the casino knew his real name they'd have him greeting people in clown shoes and a purple wig within the hour. A red bow tie indeed. Coyote fanned a handful of hundreds and waved them under Minty's nose. â€Å"Did you save my place at the table?† â€Å"I'm sure we can find you a suitable place. Follow me.† Minty led Coyote to an out-of-the-way crap table where only a few players were gathered. One of them, a lanky middle-aged man in a cowboy hat and jeans, turned and looked Coyote up and down, then scoffed and turned to the stickman, shaking his head in disgust. â€Å"Prairie niggers,† he said under his breath. Minty moved up behind the cowboy and bent over until his mouth was even with the cowboy's ear. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† The cowboy spun around and stumbled back against the table, his eyes wide. â€Å"Nothin',† he said. Minty remained crouched over, his face almost touching the cowboy's. â€Å"Is there a problem, sir?† â€Å"No. No problem,† the cowboy said. He turned and scraped his chips off the table and quickly walked away. Minty stood slowly and caught the stickman glaring at him. A wave of embarrassment burned over him. That sort of direct intimidation was completely out of line: bad form, bad judgment. He imagined that there would be a call from God waiting for him when he returned to the desk. He turned to Coyote, who was staring down the front of a cocktail waitress's dress. Minty said, â€Å"Can we get you something to drink?† â€Å"Umbrellas and swords, lots of them.† â€Å"Very good.† Minty nodded to the cocktail waitress. â€Å"Mai tai, extra fruit.† Coyote handed his cash to the dealer. â€Å"Black ones.† The dealer counted the money and handed it to the supervisor. â€Å"Changing five thousand.† The other players looked up at Coyote, then Minty, then quickly looked down to avoid eye contact. A pair of fresh-faced newlyweds stood at the head of the table, exchanging kisses and whispers. The stickman pushed the dice to the woman, who giggled as she picked them up. â€Å"That's my lucky girl,† her husband said, kissing her ear. â€Å"New shooter coming out,† the stickman said. â€Å"Is she lucky?† Coyote asked. â€Å"She's made me the luckiest man in the world,† the young husband said. The girl blushed and buried her face in her husband's shoulder. Minty found that he was irritated by the couple's fawning and wondered why. He saw it ten times a day: newlyweds at the tables acting like they were the first to discover love, glued together for a few days of starry-eyed public foreplay between bouts in a hotel bed. And they'd be back in twenty years, separating when they hit the door, her locking onto a slot machine while he played blackjack and dreamed of sneaking off to a jiggle show. Minty wanted to warn them that time would make hypocrites of them. One day you'll wake up and find that you're married to a husband and a father, a wife and a mother, and you'll wonder whatever happened to the lover that you swapped spit and sweetness with over a crap table. But why did it matter? It never had before. It's this Indian, Minty thought. He's making me lose it. Coyote placed all his chips on the pass line. â€Å"Are you lucky?† he said to the bride. She smiled and nodded. Her husband placed a two-dollar chip on the pass line. â€Å"Go ahead, honey.† He held her shoulders, bracing her against the weight of the dice, and the girl let fly. â€Å"Two! Snake eyes! No pass!† The stickman raked in the bets. Coyote dove over the table and caught the woman by the throat, riding her to the floor. The husband stepped aside as the light of his life went down. â€Å"You are not lucky!† Coyote screeched. â€Å"You lost all my money! You are not lucky!† The girl clawed at his face with lace-gloved hands. Minty Fresh caught Coyote by the back of the neck and pulled him off the girl with one hand, waving away the security jesters who had appeared with the other. â€Å"I've got this handled.† He nodded to the girl on the floor and the jesters helped her to her feet. Minty dragged Coyote away from the table. â€Å"She lied. She lied.† â€Å"Perhaps you'd like to rest for a while,† Minty said, as if he was taking Coyote's hat rather than dragging him across the floor. â€Å"Can we get you something to eat? The dining room is closed, but our snack bar is open.† Minty was acutely aware that he was in the process of losing his job. He should have turned the Indian over to security. After years as the officer of order, he was falling apart. â€Å"I need to get more money,† Coyote said, calming down now. Minty set Coyote on his feet, keeping a restraining hand on the trickster's neck. â€Å"You're sharing a room with Mr. Hunter, aren't you? I'll have the bellman take you up to the room.† Coyote thought for a moment. â€Å"No, my money is at another hotel and I don't have a car.† â€Å"That's not a problem, sir. I'll call around a limo and drive you myself.† Minty steered Coyote out a side exit of the casino and walked him to the valet booth, where he ordered a limo from the attendant. In a moment a stretch Lincoln pulled up to the curb and an eager squire held the door while Coyote climbed in. Minty adjusted the seat before climbing in; still, his knees were up around the wheel. As he drove he tried to form some sort of rationalization for his mistakes – something to wash him clean with the management. Perhaps the Indian would lose enough money to justify the lapses of judgment. â€Å"Where are you staying, sir?† â€Å"The Frontier.† Minty nodded and pulled out onto the strip. â€Å"Call Camelot,† he said. A series of beeps sounded in the car and a woman's voice came on the speaker. â€Å"Camelot.† â€Å"Desk, please.† â€Å"Thank you.† A series of clicks and a different voice. â€Å"Camelot, reservations.† â€Å"This is M.F.,† Minty said. â€Å"I'm taking a customer to the Frontier. I'll return in a few minutes.† â€Å"Very good, sir. There's a message for you from upstairs. Do you want me to put you through?† â€Å"No. Thank you.† There was no sense in rushing to the mailbox if you knew there was a letter bomb waiting for you. â€Å"Off,† Minty said. There was a click. Coyote was hanging on the back of the seat, looking down at the cellular phone. â€Å"You can talk to machines?† â€Å"Just this one. Voice activated so you can keep your hands on the wheel.† â€Å"I can talk to animals. Can you take other forms?† Minty smiled. The Indian was a nut case, but at least he was an amusing nut case. â€Å"Actually,† he said. â€Å"This is another form. In real life I'm a short Jewish woman.† â€Å"I wouldn't have known,† Coyote said. â€Å"It must be the sunglasses.† He looked at the dashboard. â€Å"Does this car tell you where you are?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Ha! Mine is better.† â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"Follow that car,† Coyote said, pointing ahead to a 280Z with a shattered back window turning off the strip. For a second, Minty was tempted to follow the car, then he caught himself. â€Å"I can't do that, sir.† What was it about this Indian that he could twist the world? If he wasn't fired when he got back to the casino, Minty decided he would hire a hooker to rub his temples and tell him that everything was okay until he believed it or ran out of money, whichever came first. Maybe the Indian was right about people wanting to be tricked. â€Å"I need cigarettes,† Coyote said. â€Å"We have complimentary cigarettes at the casino, sir.† â€Å"No. I need some now. At that store.† Coyote pointed to a minimart across the strip. â€Å"As you wish,† Minty said. He pulled the limo into the minimart and turned off the engine. Coyote said, â€Å"I'm out of money until we go to my motel.† â€Å"Allow me, sir,† Minty opened the car door and unfolded himself onto the curb. â€Å"I'll pay you back.† â€Å"Not necessary, sir. Camelot will take care of it.† â€Å"Salems,† Coyote said. â€Å"A carton.† Minty closed the door and walked into the minimart. He found the cigarettes, then grabbed a package of Twinkies off the shelf for himself. He checked the date on the Twinkies: July 1956. Good. They had another thirty years of guaranteed freshness. He fell in line behind a drunk man who was waving a gas card at the clerk. â€Å"Look, man, it's this simple. You charge my card for forty bucks' worth of gas and give me twenty in cash. You get a hundred-percent profit.† Minty listened to the clerk try to explain why this couldn't be done and smiled in sympathy, as if to say, â€Å"They lose their money, then they lose their minds.† The clerk rolled his eyes as if to say, â€Å"This might take a while.† Minty looked outside to check on his passenger and saw the limo backing away from the curb. He tossed the cigarettes and Twinkies on the counter and ran out, losing his glasses as he ducked to get through the doors. He reached the street as the limo accelerated out of reach, then stopped and stared down the strip, watching the Lincoln's taillights until they blended into a million other lights. Acid panic rose in his throat, then subsided, replaced by the resolved calm of the doomed. He turned and walked slowly back to the minimart to find his glasses. As he reached the door, the drunk, his gas card still in hand, stumbled through and Minty caught him by the shoulders to avoid a collision. The drunk looked up, then tore himself away and stepped back. â€Å"Jesus Christ, boy! What happened to your eyes? You been sittin' too close to the TV?† Minty raised his hand to cover his golden eyes, then dropped it and shrugged. â€Å"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,† he said with a grin. -=*=- Dawn was starting to break and the sky was turning from red to blue. Coyote sat in the limo, which was parked a block behind Calliope's orange Z, which was parked a block away from Nardonne's Harley-Davidson Shop. Lonnie's bike was parked outside. â€Å"Call Sam,† Coyote said. Nothing happened. He pounded on the car phone. â€Å"I said, call Sam.† Nothing happened. â€Å"Call Sam's room,† Coyote said to the phone. Nothing happened and the trickster yipped with anger. â€Å"Call Sam's room or I'll rip your cord off.† He picked up the receiver and beat it on the dashboard, then he saw a sticker with the casino's logo stuck to the receiver. â€Å"Call Camelot,† he said. The phone lit up and beeped through some numbers. The phone rang once and a woman answered. â€Å"Camelot.† â€Å"I want to talk to Sam.† â€Å"Do you have a last name, sir?† â€Å"No, just Coyote.† â€Å"I'm sorry, sir, we have no guest listed under Coyote.† â€Å"Not me, I'm here. His name is Hunter.† â€Å"We have no Coyote Hunter. There's a Samuel Hunter.† â€Å"That's him.† â€Å"One minute while I connect you.† â€Å"I'll bet you're ugly in person.† â€Å"What?† Sam's sleepy voice came over the phone. â€Å"Sam, I found the girl.† â€Å"Where? Where are you? What time is it? Who's ugly?† â€Å"Morning. You have to come here. I'm at a place called Nardonne's Harley-Davidson Shop. The girl is here, and the motorcycle with her picture on it is parked outside.† â€Å"Give me directions. I'll be there in a few minutes. Keep Calliope there. I have to check out and get the car.† â€Å"Take a cab.† â€Å"You didn't take my car?† â€Å"No, this car is better. You can talk to the phone. Your car is gone. I sold it.† â€Å"You what?† â€Å"Take a cab. I'm in a big black car. Off.† The phone clicked, cutting Sam off in the middle of a tirade. Coyote didn't know whether the girl had a phone in her car, but he decided to try. â€Å"Call the girl,† he said to the phone. The phone beeped through the numbers. â€Å"This is Carla,† a sexy woman's voice said. â€Å"Would you like this on your phone bill or your credit card?† â€Å"Phone bill,† Coyote said. â€Å"If you like leather, press one,† Carla said. â€Å"Twins, press two. For California blondes, press three. Big bottoms, press-† Coyote picked up the handset and pressed three. Another sexy voice came on, â€Å"Hi, I'm Brandy, who are you?† â€Å"Coyote.† â€Å"Would you like to know what I'm wearing, Coyote?† â€Å"No, I have to tell the girl to stay here until Sam comes.† â€Å"We'll take as long as Sam needs. Is Sam getting hard?† â€Å"No, he's pissed off about his car.† There was a pause and the sound of her lighting a cigarette. Brandy said, â€Å"Okay. Let's start over.† -=*=- Minty waited for the second limo at the pay phone outside the minimart. He flipped through his address book until he found the detective's number, then dialed. The phone rang twice, then there was the sound of the receiver rattling and falling. Finally a sleepy, hostile man's voice said, â€Å"What?† Minty said, â€Å"Jake, this is M.F., at Camelot.† â€Å"Fuck that. This is harassment. It's†¦ it's five thirty in the morning. You said I could have all the time I needed to pay.† â€Å"I'm not calling about that, Jake. I need a favor. One of the limos has been stolen.† â€Å"Why call me at home? You guys have Lo-Jack beacons in those limos, don't you? Call the station. They'll track it and have it back in half an hour.† â€Å"I can't call the station, Jake. This is delicate. I need to get it back without bringing the police into it.† â€Å"You're fucked. The Lo-Jack trackers are installed in the cruisers.† â€Å"Can you put one in one of our limos? Just until I find the stolen one.† â€Å"No way. The tracking system takes hours to install.† â€Å"Jake, I need a favor. Just a favor. I haven't mentioned what you owe us.† â€Å"This strong-arm shit isn't your style, M.F.† â€Å"But you can get use of a unit with the Lo-Jack tracker in it?† â€Å"Meet me at the station in a half hour.† â€Å"What's the range on the tracker?† â€Å"About a mile, depending on the terrain. Farther in the desert. You're not going to be able to cover much area with only one car.† â€Å"Then make it fifteen minutes. And Jake-â€Å" â€Å"What?† â€Å"Thank you.† Minty hung up. So much for the police, he thought. Now if I can get it back before the casino finds out. If not, I guess it's time to go shopping for a red bow tie. -=*=- Calliope was sure she could do it: if Grubb was trapped under a Chrysler she could lift the car and pull him out. You heard about it all the time: Hundred-Pound Mom Lifts Two-Ton Car to Save Trapped Tot. It seemed to happen often enough that it should be part of Lamaze training. â€Å"Okay, now breathe, focus, grab the bumper†¦ now lift!† Yep, she could do it – a Chrysler on each arm if she had to. She wasn't so sure about getting Grubb back from Lonnie. Maybe if that other woman wasn't with him, being so hostile and negative. She was feeling a little better now that the sun was coming up. She'd been shivering since the punks had broken her back window, from nerves and the cold. And she didn't have enough gas money to leave the Z running with the heater on while she waited for Lonnie to come out of the Harley shop. She might not have enough to make it home as it was. Besides, something was wrong with the car; she'd tached it too high while running from the police and something had given way in clatter and smoke. As she watched, Lonnie came through the front door of the shop carrying Grubb's diaper bag. Calliope swallowed hard, trying to push down her fear – fear of failure. She got out of the Z. The woman followed Lonnie holding Grubb in her arms. Calliope ran toward them, then stopped when she saw the woman's face. It was like one painful purple bruise with eyes. â€Å"Lonnie,† Calliope called. Lonnie and the woman turned. Grubb saw his mother and reached out. Lonnie pushed down Grubb's hand. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"I came to get Grubb. You shouldn't have taken him.† â€Å"Talk to the judge. He's mine half the time.† He was right. Calliope had gone to Social Services once before when Lonnie took Grubb on a road trip. Her caseworker told her that the law couldn't do anything to help. â€Å"You don't want him. You just want to hurt me.† Lonnie laughed, threw his head back, and shook with laughter. For all the times he had postured and threatened and screamed and pounded, he had never really scared her. She was scared now. â€Å"You shouldn't take him on a run like this, Lonnie. What if you get busted?† â€Å"Run? What run? We're just on a little family camping trip, aren't we, Cheryl?† The woman tucked her face behind Grubb. â€Å"Give him to me, please,† Calliope pleaded. Lonnie climbed onto his bike grinning and hit the starter. The bike fired up and Lonnie shouted over the engine, â€Å"Go home. I'll bring him back in a few days.† Cheryl climbed on behind him and he dropped the bike into gear. â€Å"No!† Calliope started to run after them. Lonnie gunned the bike and roared off. She shuffled to a stop and saw Grubb reaching out over Cheryl's shoulder. Her eyes blurred with tears. She turned and ran to her car, wiped her eyes, and saw the limo parked down the street. Someone was sitting in it, just watching her. â€Å"What are you looking at?† she screamed. -=*=- Sam made the chambermaid help him search the hotel room for his wallet for fifteen minutes before giving up and leaving her with a promise of a tip on the credit card. He was thinking This is like being stuck in some Kafkaesque Roadrunner cartoon when the taxi from the Acme Cab Company pulled up, the driver wearing a fez. Animated by Hieronymus Bosch, Sam thought. In the cab, he said, â€Å"Do you know a Harley-Davidson shop called Nardonne's?† â€Å"Bad part of town. Cost you double.† â€Å"It's broad daylight.† â€Å"Oh, it is. My shift is over. Sorry.† â€Å"Okay, double,† Sam said. Why quibble? He couldn't pay the guy anyway. When they pulled in behind the limo, Sam said, â€Å"Wait here, I'll get your money.† He got out and looked down the street to the Harley shop, then went up to the limo and pounded on the blacked-out window. The window whirred down. Coyote grinned. â€Å"Where is she?† â€Å"Took off. Just now.† â€Å"Why didn't you stop her?† â€Å"She didn't want to be stopped. We'll find her – she's following the biker, and we know where he's going.† The cabdriver beeped his horn. â€Å"Give me my wallet,† Sam said. Coyote handed the wallet out the window. Sam rifled through it and came up empty. â€Å"There's no money left.† â€Å"Nope,† Coyote said. The cabdriver leaned on the horn. Sam signaled for him to wait, ran around to the other side of the limo, and got in. â€Å"Go,† Sam said. â€Å"What about the cabdriver?† â€Å"Fuck him.† â€Å"That's the spirit.† Coyote started the limo and peeled away. He checked the rearview mirror. â€Å"He's not following.† â€Å"Good.† â€Å"He's talking to his radio. Got a smoke?† Sam dug a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, tapped one out, and lit it. â€Å"Where's my car?† â€Å"I sold it.† â€Å"You can't sell it without the title.† â€Å"I got a good deal, five thousand.† â€Å"Are you nuts? Five thousand wouldn't buy the stereo.† â€Å"I needed to win my money back. I won a lot of money on the machine you put the cards in, but a shaman with a stick won it back from me.† Sam butted his cigarette in the ashtray and hung his head in his hands, trying to let it all sink in. â€Å"So you sold my car for five grand?† â€Å"Yep.† Coyote snatched the mashed cigarette and relit it. â€Å"And where is that money?† â€Å"The shaman had strong cheating medicine.† â€Å"That's the kind of thinking that got Manhattan sold for a box of beads.† â€Å"So they still tell that story? It was one of my best tricks. They gave us many beads for that island. They didn't know that you can't own land.† Sam sighed and slouched in his seat, thinking he should be angry, or worried about his car, but strangely he was more concerned with catching Calliope. They were on the highway now. Sam glanced at the speedometer. â€Å"Slow down to the speed limit. We don't need cop trouble. I'm assuming you stole this car.† â€Å"I counted coup: stealing a tethered horse.† â€Å"Tell me,† Sam said. Coyote told the story of Minty and the limo, turning it into a fable full of danger and magic, making himself the hero. He was coming to the part about the car phone when it rang. Sam reached for the answer button and pulled back his hand in disgust. â€Å"What's this gunk all over the phone? It looks like-â€Å" â€Å"I'm not to that part of the story yet.† â€Å"Then you answer it.† â€Å"Speak,† Coyote said, and the phone lit up and clicked. â€Å"Is that you, Brandy?† A very deep, calm voice came over the speakerphone, â€Å"I want the car back, now. Pull over and stop. I'm a couple of minutes behind you. The police are-â€Å" â€Å"Off,† Coyote said. The phone hung up. Coyote turned to Sam. â€Å"This is a good car. You can talk to the phone. Her name is Brandy. She's very friendly.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Sam said. â€Å"That wasn't her.† â€Å"Pull off at the next exit.†

Friday, September 27, 2019

Rise and Fall of Civilizations During Pre-History to 1500 CE Research Paper

Rise and Fall of Civilizations During Pre-History to 1500 CE - Research Paper Example The current socio-political status-quo is said to be the continuation of the previous political world order. This paper aims to discuss the rise and fall of different civilizations and how the acted as a base to shape the contemporary political practices. The civilizations which have been chosen for the purpose of discussion in the paper are chosen on the basis of their impact on political contribution. Byzantine Empire Contribution to Political Diplomacy: Byzantine Empire was basically a facet of the Roman Empire during middle Ages. Likewise other civilizations, the Byzantine Empire had its own army and societal setup. Byzantine Empire had to face a number of challenges as the demise of the Roman Empire in its initial phase was noted. The era of Byzantine Empire can also be referred to an era of preservation of Roman traditions and values. The employment of diplomacy was concerned as significant in the era of Byzantine Empire. It can be said that most of the modern practices in the political diplomacy are inspired by the Byzantine Empire1. ... on made to the modern political practices of diplomacy, the Byzantine Empire ultimately led to its dissolution in the long run2 Anglo-Saxon Empire Contribution to Democracy: By going through the history of the Anglo-Saxon Empire, it becomes easy to understand that common language and the control of the ancestors on the tradition of a community can create a balance in the community. The political control was bestowed to the ancestors of the civilization as they were considered as the teachers of the forerunners. The Anglo-Saxon Empire is basically referred to the German invaders who invaded British during the 5th century. The contribution of the Anglo-Saxons on the modern political practice was their tradition of following meetings and discussion. This act of discussing any political action is considered as democratic act in the modern time. The political order in the era of Anglo-Saxons was stable and able to meet the needs of its people which ultimately led in increased loyalty from the people. It would not be incorrect to state that Anglo-Saxons could not survive for a very long period of time in Britain because they were divided into groups which fought frequently. The increased fights between these invader groups resulted in the fall of the civilization. Despite the interest of the civilization in maintaining army, Anglo-Saxons lost because of its own armed men3 Ottoman Empire Contribution to Bureaucratic Structures: Among different civilizations, Ottoman Empire is considered to be an Empire which lasted longer than any other Empire in the history. This Empire was also known as Turkish Empire which had its own supremacy in terms of monarch. The political control in the Ottoman Empire was strictly liable to the monarchs. The Empire is also known as a symbol of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Internship Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Internship Report - Essay Example Its vision also incorporates operations in a uniform and motivating atmosphere. Its mission identifies facilitating potentials among â€Å"trade and industry sector’s capacities† and sustaining other stakeholders’ interests through effective policymaking and development of strategies to empower resource utilization towards expansion of the nation’s economy (Ministry of Commerce and Industry 1). Objectives of the organization The organization has not outlined its explicit objectives, but its scope, vision, and mission statements as well as its core values imply a number of objectives. The mission statement identifies the organization’s goal of playing a leadership role in the nation’s trade and industries. Its mission statement is more diverse and communicates a number of objectives such as to promote abilities of trade and industry in the nation and to develop and enforce policies that are suitable for economic growth. The ministry’s c ore values, however, imply objectives such as to ensure honesty in the ministry’s undertakings, to ensure transparency in its dealings, and to promote creativity and mastery (Ministry of Commerce and Industry 1). Organizational structure The ministry is organized into geographical branches that undertake its roles and responsibilities across different regions of the nation. The branches, however, operate under consultations and directives from the ministry’s head office (Ministry of Commerce and Industry 1) Reward system Salary, allowances, and benefits Reward is an important concept in organization and influences productivity. The ministry factors in psychological effects of rewards and bases salaries, remuneration and allowances on the value for people, recognition for the efforts and achievements that the people attain in the ministry and the need for employees’ active participation in the ministry’s activities with the aim of fostering and improving i ts working environment. In order to ensure this perspective, the ministry has developed an attitude under the banner, ‘compensation, performance management, communication, and career advancement.’ The ministry’s value for its human resource is evident in its rewards rates that are comparably better than at other government agencies. Offered salaries in the ministry are also based on well-defined employees’ grades with specified salary ranges. Further, the ministry recognizes its employees’ performances through a rewards system that is based on an employee’s level of success and the employee’s grade. Grading The ministry has permanent and casual employees. It has a formal structure that grades permanent employees by their academic qualifications and their work experience. Salaries scale Employees’ job grades determine their salaries and other rewards. The salaries are further reviewed, annually, to ensure consistency with the mar ket demands and salaries that are offered by other agencies. Every department in the ministry, and with consultations from other departmental heads, undertakes the review. These reviews do not immediately affect each employee’s salary but offer a basis to determining possible changes. New recruits are, however, subjected to the running and approved payment scales though departmental heads, and human resource department can hire an employee at a higher rate than the employee’s scale. Another feature of the ministry salaries is an annual review that

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT LESSON 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT LESSON 1 - Essay Example According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"The people elect public officials to represent them in free and frequent elections. People start voting to tell the government what they need at the age of eighteen.† An example of this is the upcoming presidential election. Anyone who is eligible to vote can cast a ballot for whom they wish to be president. The principle of limited power was born out of the fear that Americans had at the time since they had just gained independence. They now had their own power and freedoms and were not about to hand it over fully and freely to the government. Essentially, tyranny was their greatest fear because of the circumstances. According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"Many states pressured the framers of the constitution to add a Bill of Rights, or a list of the basic rights of citizens. The framers also made the national and state governments share power. But whatever the power, the people gave it to the government and they could take it away.† An example of this in today’s world is the rules governing equal opportunity rights. The next principle for discussion is the sharing of power. According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"Americas government was based on Federalism, where power is divided between the Federal (national) and state governments. The constitution states what powers the Federal government has and leaves the rest for the states. Whenever a dispute arises the constitution is the â€Å"supreme law of the land.† An example of this is gambling. Some states allow it, and some do not. There is no federal law outright forbidding it, though. The fourth principle to discuss is separation of powers. As it stands today, the federal government consists of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"The legislative branch includes the congress and House of

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Azhar Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Azhar - Research Paper Example n.The poem that I am considering is daddy by Sylvia Plath, this poem highlights the male dominating society through the character of a father, who is excessively dominating and neglects his daughter by being emotionally absent when she needs her ( Plath). This poem depicts the narcissistic attitude of a man towards women. Hence, through this poem one can realize how a man easily dominates over women in the society without feeling guilty. The short story that I am considering is â€Å"Hills like white elephant† by Ernest Hemingway, the writer explains how a woman is under immense pressure during pregnancy that she is fearful as to how she would raise this child. Her partner who is mentioned as American is shown to be very indifferent towards her, that he convinces her to have an abortion. The â€Å"white elephant† (Hemingway) is referred to the unborn child, who only the women can see. This story is also about the relationship of a man and women that is ending. The modern song that I am considering is â€Å"Modern Women† by Billy Joel, although the lyricist is a male but he beautifully portrays by using words like â€Å"Intellectual† and â€Å"confident.† The writer does not look down the women; instead, he sends a powerful message to the readers that a women today is no longer vulnerable so, men should not take her for granted because she is a â€Å"modern women† (Joel). The first academic article that I am considering is â€Å"men women and murder: gender-specific differences in rates of fatal violence and victimization.† shows the difference in the incidents of homicides involving men and women. Although, the male victims were 77% and females victims were found to be just 23 %,( Kellermann & Mercy), but the research shows that the incidents of murders of women by their husbands were much higher. Hence, after reading the article one comes to the conclusion that women in our society are still treated badly and a clear discrimination exists. Connecting Gender

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Project management. What's that Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project management. What's that - Essay Example The management of project components and clustering them under one unit is very important (Haugan, 2011). Project management enables following the guidelines and use of the right kind of tool and technique for performing the project. It further allows integration of stages of a project that are namely planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling phase (Weihrich & Cannice,pg 4, 2010). Project management further keeps a check on the various constraints that must be taken into account. These constraints are in time completion of project, keeping the costs within the allotted budget, and finally monitoring the performance at different levels of project by individuals and workgroups. The project performed was aimed at providing relief to the commuters in the particular area which is being congested due to traffic .A solution is proposed in form of A3 Hind head project which will ease the traffic load and bring about relief. Out of the nine broadly defined areas of management, f our are needed to be taken into consideration which are as follows: ‘Managing the scope of the project in controlling the project through aims, goals and objectives of its sponsors. The first of nine elements is indispensible and must be taken into consideration. ... The aim should be clearly conveyed to all the stakeholders both inside the organization and outside in order to enable them working according to the requirements. ‘Managing time planning, scheduling and controlling the project to achieve the time objectives through recognized control methodologies.’ This is the second most important element of managerial approach. Effective planning in any stage of project has its direct effect on the project, planning gives a roadmap as to what to achieve and how to achieve it ,it is the table work for practical implementation, scheduling of activities enable synchronization of work and allows reduction of extra activities which might consume resources and do not contribute towards the productivity. A generalized objective of any project is the completion of project in time, the element of scheduling is one of the most important factors to be considered since delay can have severe negative repercussions on the project and its stakeholde rs. Scheduling enables achieving work break down structure (Harris, 2010). The controlling aspect is also implementable to different components of the project body. Controlling could be in form of the spending, the inventory, and the transportation costs. Methodologies always help in standardizing the working procedures. Projects that involve the public directly, can less afford delays and schedule stretches, Hind Head is a similar case where public contact is in direct question, therefore this is one of the four most important elements needed to be taken in to account. Project Integration Management – develop the project charter, scope statement, and Plan. Direct, manage, Monitor and control Project Change.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Assignment Example Globalization and Agreement or Disagreement on the Issues Wright’s argument was that globalization is a force that has ultimately contributed to why the 9/11 attacks occurred. Wright is saying that if there were more financial equality in the Middle East, then perhaps there would not be rioting and all kinds of dissent among people in the Arab world regarding savage inequalities. These inequalities are problems like poverty and high populations, and not enough resources. Perhaps one of the greatest issues, however, that concerns the Middle East is how poverty has affected the people. People in these regions feel very upset that they are being ignored. Take, for example, the current situation in Syria. These people, hundreds of thousands of them, have been left to die at the hands of Bashar Assad. The president of Syria thinks that just because he can kill people, he should kill people. He hedged a bet that no one would stop him, and he was right. He is figuring on being able t o kill a lot of defenseless, innocent people just because he can. ... America’s â€Å"Grander Mission† and Its â€Å"Deep and Subtle Moral Challenge† What is America’s â€Å"grander mission†? It seems that America’s grander mission would be to help those less fortunate than itself. However, that is not always the case, sadly. While in the U.S. we attempt to give aid to those who most need it, unfortunately what the case is is that we are drowning in a budget deficit that threatens to send us off the edge of a fiscal cliff. While America’s greater or grander mission is to help those who are less fortunate, we must also realize our deep and subtle moral challenges. Those moral challenges include: taking the moral high ground; having interest in situations where they do not necessarily benefit us financially but are still situations in which people need help; and not benefiting from the suffering of others. One of America’s biggest issues is that its leaders only do things that are for their own bene fit or America’s benefit. For example, one of the key reasons America does not have a vested interest in helping the Syrians is because they have no oil. They have no resources to offer the U.S. in return for what the Americans would do for them. And, unfortunately, that kind of reciprocity is exactly why the U.S. got involved in Libya and Iraq—because the oilfields there would have jeopardized the oil deliveries to the U.S. and other countries. The key word here is the United States. Anything affecting the United States directly are what we consider our best interests. Unfortunately, that is a selfish policy that our leaders execute while forgetting about people who are suffering elsewhere that have just as valid plights from which they

Sunday, September 22, 2019

To Find Common Identifying Factors in different financial scandals Essay Example for Free

To Find Common Identifying Factors in different financial scandals Essay Financial scandals are known for their adverse effects on businesses. They can cripple a business entity or lead to total collapse. Thus, the value of looking into the issue of scandals constitutes a study area of great value both to the academic discourse and the general knowledge. This paper looks into financial scandals with a view to finding common factors underlying them. Through a case study approach, the Amaranth Advisors, Allfirst Group, and Soceite Generale are examined. Through the use of relevant literature review, it is established that though scandals are different in the nature of their emergence, there are a host of common factors that occasion them. The study finds that poor regulating posed by both internal and external mechanisms are to blame for this phenomenon. It is also established that issues such as rogue trading, office politics, laxity in rule application and sluggish responding constitute the other common factors underlying the scandals. The paper concludes by calling upon the tightening of measures, updating technologies, de-politicizing organizational business, and the adoption of stringent regulation to tame the vice. Introduction Financial scandals involve business and political misdeeds by executives entrusted with large public and private institutions. These schemes entail complex methodical application of schemes with a view to misdirecting and/or misusing funds. Other forms of scandals may pertain to understating expenses, underreporting business liabilities, overstating of revenues, overstating of assets, etc. This is normally done by officials and subordinates of businesses. In public enterprises, this kind of action constitutes fraud. In cases where scandals have been detected or reported, the norm is always to launch investigations with a view to unearthing the issues underlying the engagement of such criminal activity. The oversight agencies like Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States are responsible for investigating the emergence of this kind of crime. Scandals typically present a seriously dangerous scenario as most investigations point that such scams are nothing but a ‘tip of an iceberg’. As this paper finds out scandals are often led by officials within organizations. The officials are given support by either laxity or complacency by relevant organs. Literature review In any research, the use of literature review is of undisputed value. Literature review enables a researcher to find the status of an issue area. This is possible as literature review offers what other researchers have done on the study issue. On this basis, this study is no exception as it heavily relies on the works of other scholars towards raising important findings. The case of Societe Generale The scandal involving Societe Generale went on for a long period of time. It was first reported via an email on November 7th of 2007. A surveillance office stationed at Eurex raised the mater before a compliance officer of the bank. It was revealed that a trader; Jerome Kerviel, had engaged in a number of transactions which were suspicious in nature (Martin, Allen, Allen and Samuel, 1). The bank bid its time and launched its own response in 20th of November. In this response, a risk control expert at the bank purported that there was nothing irregular in the transactions executed between the bank and the client; Jerome Kerviel. In his response, the bank official claimed that the then ongoing volatility in the financial markets especially in the United States of America and Europe stocks, was the reason behind the bank’s requirement of after-hours trading (Martin, Allen, Allen and Samuel, 1). The office at Eurex did not stop there. On November 26, it sent a second email to the bank explaining its displeasure at the way the matter was handled by the bank. This explains what led the bourse to demand further information regarding this issue. The bank, Societe Generale provided further information on 10th of December. On this basis, the two parties; Societe Generale and the Eurex office let the issue disappear (Martin, Allen, Allen and Samuel, 1). When Kerviel raised another alarm, coming five weeks later, it proved too little too late. He made a lot of profit based on the surreptitious trading amounting to around two billion US dollars. However, this gain was soon to evaporate as a loss in the region of seven billion US dollars. The bank basically unwound the financial standing of Kerviel on 21st and 22nd of January (Clark and Jolly, 1). A spokesperson of Societe Generale declined to comment on the warning issued earlier by Eurex claiming an internal inquiry led by a special committee composed of independent directors was underway. It is hypothesized at this stage that ignoring the red flag raised by Eurex was a serious misstep in aiding this scandal. The loss suffered by the bank is almost wholly attributable to the actions of ignorance on the side of the bank (Sage, 1). The bank, despite being in business for over one hundred and forty four years, it failed by allowing a culture of risk taking to flourish within its ranks. Simply put, this seriously exposed the bank as it allowed for major flaws to characterize its operations. It is hypothesized that it is this allowance that paved way for the rogue businessman to rock the bank and make away with a good amount of money while leaving the bank with gaping holes in its financial status. The manner in which Kerviel was let to undertake his mischief undetected by a bank of Societe Generale stature serves to underscore this realization (Gregory and Anne-Sylvaine, 1). Instead of discouraging the making of big bets by clients, the Societe Generale group rewarded traders who made such risky investments. It is further revealed that it was never uncommon for traders to exceed the limits put on trading momentarily before holding back. This was however against controls limiting this (Martin, Allen, Allen and Samuel, 1). During January 2008, Societe Generale lost over 4. 9 billion euros as it closed positions in three days. At this time, the market was experiencing a big drop in equity indices. It is claimed by the bank that these positions were fraudulent creations of one, Jerome Kerviel, a rogue trader. However, more surprises were sprung up as the police claimed they did not have the evidence to charge the culprit with fraud instead preferring abuse of confidence charges against Jerome Kerviel. Jerome Kerviel claimed that his actions were well known to the superiors at the bank and the major reason behind the collapse of the bank was based on panic selling (Sage, 1). It is claimed by bank officials that throughout the year 2007, Jerome Kerviel was trading profitably anticipating a fall in market prices. This was however done beyond authorized levels. The culprit is accused of engaging in trade totaling almost 50 billion, a figure way above the bank’s sum market capitalization. It is further revealed that Jerome Kerviel attempted to hide this engagement by intentionally creating losing trades in a bid to offset the early gains he had made. In addition to the above allegation, Jerome Kerviel is thought to have made over 1. 5 billion US dollars in hidden profits (Martin, Allen, Allen and Samuel, 14). The case of Allfirst John Rusnak, a former currency businessman at Allfirst bank, at the time an affiliate of AIB Company was given a 71/2 years jail term in connection to his role in the disappearance of six hundred and one US million dollars. This sum of money was lost due to the banking system’s encouragement of bad bets. The bad debts were later to snowball leading to a monstrous scam ever witnessed in the banking industry. The culprit, Rusnak John was transferred from prison to his house in June of 2008 to be under house detention until September the same year and later let free in 5th January 2009. This meant that in total, Rusnak served less than six years in incarceration (Robert, 45). If the original sentence could have been adhered to the later, Rusnak could have been held in prison for a period of over 30 years. However, the original sentence was a presentation of a plea bargain hammered in collaboration with the US prosecutors. While being released, it was alleged that Rusnak had earned good behavior and completed a drug treatment module. On his release, Rusnak was expected to begin paying one thousand US dollars a month to cater for his time in probation (Robert, 45). Though Rusnak was held responsible for the loss of six hundred and ninety one million US dollars, the case prosecutors claimed whatever amount to be paid was to depend on what the culprit was able to make after being freed. The fraudulent activities engineered by Rusnak were very harmful to the entire stakeholder ship as over one thousand and one hundred Allfirst employees lost their jobs during the sale of the company (Robert, 45). Early on at the discovery of the fraud, the executives at Alllfirst and AIB believed that there was no any form of conspiracy between Rusnak and any other member or official of the bank (Brian, 54). This finding may absolve the bank of any blame in the eyes of the public. However, this is a devastating finding since it paints a grisly picture on the part of the bank. That is to say if one bank official would carry out a fraud of this magnitude, then things were quite wrong. Simply put, the bank’s monitoring and self regulating mechanism was in tatters to say the least. The Ludwig report confirmed that the bank’s back office did not make attempts towards confirming the bogus options alongside their Asian counterparts. The negligence fronted by the company’s middle and back offices from confirming the foreign exchange rate from an independent source also puts the bank on the spot. It is also alleged that the internal audit done in 1999 did not bring out the real picture. Later in 2000, an audit carried only examined a single transaction to determine whether indeed there was impropriety. These failures of the bank only present actions that appear in support of graft (Brian (a), 34). The back office at the treasury had issued a warning regarding the events at the bank. The fact that the bank chose to let the opportunity points to gross misconduct by leadership. The treasury, backroom office had raised a host of issues regarding Rusnak’s personality concerns and confirming trades conducted by Rusnak. The culprit seemed excellent in playing organizational politics to his advantage. This is reflected by the fact that the back office desisted from reporting the actions of the trader as the management was behind Rusnak’s activities. If the back office had received support from the top management, then the rogue activities could have been curtailed (Brian, 54). Foreign exchange rules require that suspicious activities should be discouraged (Brian (a), 34). The two prime brokerage provision banks failed to uncover what Rusnak was undertaking. This was a notable omission on the part of the two banks. The Historical Rate Rollovers should never have been used to uncover fraud deals as it happened. The trading system at Allfirst was literary flawed as one employee was trying to run a hedge fund. Rusnak had no knowledge, diversification, skills, and other requisite attributes necessary to run the trading system (Brian (a), 35). The case of Amaranth Advisors The year 2006 was one of the most devastating in reference to the history of the Amaranth group. It is during this year that Amaranth Advisors lost in excess of two billion US dollars over a span of few weeks (Robert, 37). Amaranth Advisors engaged in a very risky venture in regards to trading. This left the business entity hugely exposed to the frugalities that characterise the business world. Liquidity is an aspect that should be closely monitored if businesses ae to be safe. But taking risks as this business did implies a readiness in the business to test the waters of uncertainty. Launched as a hedge fund business, Amaranth operated a very risky venture as its portfolio could change up to 80 percenty in reflection of the energy trade. As this soared, the group, Amaranth changed tack and put onside the concept of diversification with a view to mitigating the risks that were emerging. the group traded on Credit Arbitrage, Convertible Bond Arbitrage, Merger Arbitrage, Energy Arbitrage, etc. Initially, the the amount in Convertible Arbitrage reflected sixty percenty of te worth of the company. however, by september 2006, this had shifted to almost two percent. Such is the volatility that characterised the company activities (Robert, 37). One factor emerges at this point; there were no limits concerning the regulation of concentration. Leverage was also unrestricted. when leverage is unrestricted, it means that a company can engage in trading beyond the set limit or outside the confines of its budget. this portends ill for a business as in the case of a loss, the company can easily go under (Robert, 37). Brian Hunter who was hired in 2004 takes blame for the financial fiasco experienced by this group. Brian Hunter had already cut a niche for himself in the corridors of wall street. While trading in energy futures, Hunter had achieved great success and it is perhaps on this basis that Amaranth hired him. The trader was so renowned such that When he threatened to quit in 2004, his perks were adjusted upwards to tie him there. Hunter was also given the oportunity to trade separately from the group boss and awarded adittional compenation. Equally of note rests on the fact that the individual was given the privilege of relocating o his hometown and trade from there (Robert, 38). On the basisof the United States Senate Permanent Subcommitte on Finance, Amaranth lost money in the region of two bilion US dollars beginning the first week of August. This loss was attributed to the trading in natural gas which led to high liquidity in the entire company portfolio. The John Marthinsen estimates put the losses at around 6. 5 billion. The Amaranth group was deeply engaged in various types of contracts that captured futures, options, and swaps. The company position remained hugely independent on the future prices of natural gas (Robert, 38). Historically, natural gas prices rose during the winter times. This was held as natural gas is commonly used as a heating source at tis tme. so it was commonsense that gas prices would rise during te time. Amaranth was banking on this norm to enable the company reap profits. However, this is an instinctive way of runing business which cannot be relied upon though it wored previously. this ponts to a lack of well oiled strategies in running the business (Robert, 38). Allfirst hired John Rusnak as a currency trader with a view to help in the proprietary exchange of foreign currency. This was a costly acquistion as the fellow cost the bank around 691 million dollars. Through the use of various methods, Rusnak overstepped his mandate and traded beyond limits putting the bank’s fortunes at stake in the process (Robert, 38). The wild derivatives were the first error towards the financial meltdown. It appears like Brooksley Born, the then chairperson of Commodity Futures Trading Commission had foreseen the danger posed by deregulation of derivatives. The idea to extend the regulation mandate as proposed by Brooksley was rebuffed by the officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department. While it remains debatable whether the regulation could prevent or alter the financial trend, few dispute the idea that such control would have slowed the emergence of the problem. Financial analysts believe if this was introduced 10 years or earlier, the control would have mitigated the rise of the problem (Blinder, 1). Wild derivatives have adverse effects on any business, the deregulation of derivatives at Amaranth, Allfirst, and Societe Generale point to the fact that such a precedent is dangerous as it portends ill for a business. Blinder has observed that the alarm bells signaling the financial credit crunch went long ago and individuals in positions of influence refused to act rather preferring to protect huge business interests. The innermost government sanctums were basically to blame as they chose to protect few businesses at the expense of the common good (Blinder, 1). Brooksley, while serving at CFTC made it clear to congress that controlling the financial markets was necessary. The financial instruments commonly known as derivatives were the focus point. It is little surprise that ultimately the collapse of the derivatives market served as a trigger towards the 2008 financial crisis. Brooksley was overly concerned about the ‘swaps’ unregulated trading (Blinder, 1). This unregulated trading led to the near collapse of the economy. Similarly the unregulated nature of activities of the three companies presented the necessary conditions for the scandals to take place. For an efficient market operation, there are no illusions, regulation by an independent body is necessary. On the basis of Blinder’s observation ‘sky high leverage’ an issue that arose in 2004 leads to serious effects on businesses (1). During this period, the S. E. C allowed securities firms to up their leverage to levels unmatched before. Prior to this instance, leverage stood at 12 to 1. After this event, the leverage sky rocketed to 31 to 1 (Blinder, 1). This is a pointer to madness on the side of the S. E. C and firms’ heads. It is known that at 33 to 1 leverage, a small decline, for example a three percent decline in assets valuation can lead to a wiping out of a business company. If the authorities had ensured that the leverage was kept at 12 to 1, then the firms would have remained stable as they would not have grown that big or exposed to vulnerability. The firms being examined in this study equally let their officials exceed their normal leverage explaining why the effects were lethal. Findings When Eurex issued a warning, the Societe Generale officials did not respond adequately, instead they took to time wasting with a view to getting the issued buried. Warnings are expected to serve an entity to refocus or correct something going wrong. The Societe Generale group did not heed this, nor did Amaranth do. The officials of Societe Generale affirmed that there was nothing wrong with the transactions executed by Kerviel. This is an indication that Kerviel must have been operating under the protection of big officials at the institution or that the institution checking mechanisms were amiss. The internal self regulating and checking mechanism were in a total mess. This explains why Kerviel was able to wage such criminal activities without being noticed. However, this may point to another issue concerning politics of organization. Accomplices must have been used from the highest levels of management. For Kerviel to engage in this act, he must have been damn aware that there was some form of protection that would come his way. Risk ventures hold huge potential both in reference to loss and profit making. Societe Generale encouraged traders to continue engaging in such ventures. Jerome Kerviel claimed that superiors were aware of his actions. The losses incurred by Societe Generale were reflected in a very short time; three days. This does not however imply that prior to this; the business was in a sound position. This is because before such a position is reached, there must have been factors at play. The senior management based in Dublin and Baltimore failed to focus on the happenings at Allfirst. The role of any management team in all organizations is and remains one of overseeing the transactions executed. Simply put, the management should sanction all activities. Activities which carry the importance as the one carried out by Jerome Kerviel should have been closely monitored. However, this was not done. The betting business is a risky business venture which Allfirst bank encouraged. It is a fact that profits can be made in this business. However, it is also possible to make huge losses which may lead to collapse of a business entity. On this basis, there are regulative measures always put in place to guide in the setting the right amount to be gambled. Laxity in rules comes into the fore as Rusnak was given a relatively big sentence at the beginning but this was watered down to a mere 7 years though the culprit ended up serving even less. The amount payable back; 1 000 US dollars presented a slap in the face of justice considering the amount of losses the person had led Allfirst into incurring. The foreign exchange rules requiring the disapproval of suspicious ventures was also discarded as Rusnak continued with his business unhindered. Internal mechanisms at Allfirst and AIB at first claimed there was nothing sinister about Rusnak’s engagements. All other bank officials were cleared of any wrong doing claiming that there was no form of collusion between Rusnak and any member at the bank. The middle and the back office must have slept on the job. They did little to seek valid information from independent sources regarding exchange rates. In addition to this, the audit carried out by the bank examined only a single transaction involving the activities of Rusnak. How fair was this? The back office at the treasury issued a warning of impropriety at the bank concerning Rusnak’s activities, but this was either unheeded or ignored. The senior management monitoring and control system like auditing were overrated as they miserably failed on the very aspect they were there for. Just like Allfirst and the Societe Generale group, Amaranth Advisors engaged in a very risky trading system. Thus the uncertainty in the bank was bound to reflect on its financial and business health. Unregulated leverage was the crucial issue that brought down the bank. Brian Hunter the fellow behind the scam at Amaranth Advisors was given special treatment. Rusnak overstepped his mandate and traded beyond Amaranth Advisors’ limits. While Rusnak was doing this, the Amaranth Advisors just like the other two companies had internal mechanisms of regulating and monitoring activities within the organization. Outside regulators were also in place. The fact that both internal and outside sources of regulation failed to act puts such bodies or departments on the spot. Comparison of findings Poor rules and regulations regarding business operations are found to be reflected by the three business entities. Rules and regulations play a very pivotal role in the running of a business. Such rules and regulations stem from either within or from outside a business. The regulations relating to trading limits were flouted. Internal and external mechanisms equally failed to unearth these events. Where they were unearthed by external offices, the establishments at the three companies poured cold scorn on the advice. It appears like engineering episodes that were bound to happen. In the three cases, there are single individuals masterminding huge scandals. What baffles scholars and the public alike is the manner in which the events proceeded undetected for a long period of time. With the current levels of technology, it also leaves a lot to be desired why institutions like these could not use such technological assistance. Office politics, a regular phenomenon in most public offices also rears its ugly head again. The revelation by the former chief economist, Yves-Marie Laulan that what happened at Soceite Generale was inevitable offers strong support to this position. Yves-Marie Laulan further claimed that some things are hard enough and thus difficult to control, an implication that the economist could have well been aware the scam was in the making. The fact that when red flags were raised in these scandals nothing of note was taken by the companies serves as a pointer that senor and powerful individuals were behind the scams. Only that, they were achieving their goals through proxies. The proxies in the cases include the three individuals mentioned as the perpetrators of the scam. Rules regarding business operations were flouted. If rules and regulations are not obeyed things are bound to go awry at some point. The trading limit rules were ignored by these companies. Risk ventures which were suspect in nature were let tom thrive. As if that wasn’t bad enough, warnings issued were ignored. Where they were heeded, the approach was truly sluggish in nature. The companies; Amaranth, Allfirst, and Societe Generale presented cases of flouting expected levels of leverage. It is crucial that leverage levels be kept at the right level if businesses are to remain afloat. In the cases of the three businesses, this was never observed. The failure to observe set rules and regulations serves to point to impropriety in handling the businesses. Discussion On the basis of findings, it is discernable that there was laxity in rule implementation. Every trade has its regulations which aid operations in day to day transactions. The three entities examined in this survey exhibit an unwillingness or sluggish nature in implementing the regulations of business. In the three cases, the three culprits wee found to have operated way beyond the limits set by their businesses. System weakness and other failures are equally found to have served as impediments in the success of business. The scandals raised or rather examined in this paper are of big magnitude. However, despite calls for investigations and the raising of alarm bells in reference to the scandals at their initial stages, nothing worthy was engineered to curtail the explosion of the scandal. Every system is supposed to regulate itself fully. A system that fails this test is out of sorts and lacks the legitimacy of being in operation. Assuming that there was no abetting of these criminal activities in the respective scandals, then the systems regulation and control mechanisms were a total mess. Such systems should e replaced and completely done away with. Technology plays a critical role in present day business activities. For example, it aids the flow of transactions in a very expedient and efficient manner. Thus each company is encouraged to employ latest and up to date technologies in order to move a business forward in tandem with present trends. However, the scenario at Alfirst points to a different direction. The use of the Crossmar Matching System to monitor trade should have been used, working as a group would have equally helped. Instead of applying this latest technological support, Allfirst was employing the use of telephone and fax. The use of spreadsheets to feed information regarding exchange rates to the business is also another shortcoming attributable to the inability of the business from taking important and necessary steps in addressing business requirements. Simply put, it is a shame that a company of Alllfirst’s stature could be using the methods mentioned above. Whichever explanation is given in support of this position is unacceptable and unwelcome to level headed individuals. One of the greatest mistakes of the companies though not expressly captured in the paper relates to office politics. Office politics is almost commonplace in every business as human beings often tend to align themselves to different cocoons at the work place. However, it is the duty of the top management to focus on this aspect and ensure that office politics does not work to the detriment of an entity. If a business leadership fails on this, then there is no good in the office leadership being in office. A closer look at events in the three scandals implies an absence of good leadership characterized by political intrigues. When warnings were issued at initial stages of the scandal, the top leadership in the organizations seemed to brush aside the allegations. They equally failed to investigate and either authenticate or dispel the rumors in total. This, in my considered view, was an act outlining a possibility of role playing in which case the top leadership was an accomplice in the scandals. In the case of Allfirst, the preferential treatment of one employee illustrated by receiving extra perks and being allowed to work from home also underscores the point. The key to success in any business rests on good management practices (Barrett, 51). This points to the ability of the management to set achievable goals and embarking on a mission towards realizing them. For success to be attained, the management must outline the necessary tasks in setting up and managing the business. The goals set for the business must be measurable in performance terms. Towards that end, major goals should be broken into smaller goals. These sub goals should have timelines which must be observed. This is an area in which the businesses failed leading to the witnessed scandals. After setting goals and the sub goals, the individual owner or manager must move into action and make the necessary steps towards attaining them. The efforts required in achieving the different goals and sub goals are different, then the deviations should be reflected in the actions or the steps taken towards the achievement. The required effort must remain reasonable so as not to discourage the manager. Caution should be taken to avoid chasing too many goals as such pursuit may scuttle the success of a business (Wright, 75). In this regard, priorities must be set. The businesses studied in this research should prioritize vigilance and caution while trading. The planning and setting of goals must be done well in advance. This enables the manager to understand what to expect in most circumstances. As the business grows the set goals should gradually be achieved as such achievement is expected to motivate the manager. Normally, obstacles will be on the way of any business venture, this should be anticipated and provided for in terms of arrangements to counter or mitigate the effects (Wright, 75). The businesses mentioned in this study should have done this to avoid such scandals.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Bible: An Eternal Canon

The Bible: An Eternal Canon When one thinks of the word Bible, it evokes images of revelation at Sinai, full of lightning and thunder, where an awestruck nation received the ten commandments. It conjures images of Isaiahs soaring prophecies, the anguish of Esther, and the courage of Daniel. However, despite the history within it, the Bible is not a history book. One who turns the pages and reads the ancient words will find promises of the rewards that await those who do good and the punishments that come in the wake of evil. The Bible is a roadmap to living life wisely; it gives advice and guidance, comforts the aggrieved and inspires the crestfallen. It illuminates events and helps place them in perspective. It is not an old storybook and not just a book of law but rather a compilation of the periods and people whose actions hold relevant lessons to be learned, even thousands of years later. When they compiled and finalized which books would be included in the biblical canon, it was understood by the ancient Jewish authorities that it was to be a guide for generations on how to live life. A central part of Judaism is the study of Torah in order to learn and adhere to the laws and way of life that is expected by God, as it says in the book of Joshua this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success[1], meaning that one who studied the Bible would glean from it what the correct thing to do in their own life was and therefore, would find success. As such, while there were likely other books written, and certainly there were many other prophets and prophecies experienced, before the redaction of the biblical canon began, not everything was worthy of eternal inclusion. A crite rion for inclusion was that each book chosen by the ancient Jewish authorities was a selection which provided teachings, be they ethical or moral, that would be applicable and relevant for all future generations, regardless of time and place. If the Jewish authorities did not feel that it would still be relevant to be studied by future generations, regardless of how interesting it may have been, they did not include it. The biblical canon is meant to shape people. It is logical to believe that the Creator of the Universe provided man with a code of conduct, as it says God insist[s] that His worshippers live up to strict standards of ethics and morality[2]. God, through His actions, displayed the moral and ethical path that one should strive to emulate. When the ancient Jewish authorities compiled the biblical canon, it was clear that they were including the books that presented examples of upright and holy behaviour that future generations should strive to emulate. The biblical canon also endeavours to bring people who read its ancient pages closer to God. The books included in the biblical canon were selected with the intention that these timeless words would have an impact on all future generations and would still create a framework for a relationship with God, even thousands of years later. Another of the criteria for being included in the bible was that the works be composed during the era of prophetic revelation; that is, no later than the time of the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the returned exiles from Babylonia[3]. Books and prophecies that emerged after this cut-off date were not included in the biblical canon. It is for this reason that the Books of the Maccabees were not considered for biblical inclusion, since they were written after the period of prophetic revelation had ended. An opinion as to why this was the cut-off date for inclusions is that it was believed that no addition would be on the holy level of the books originally included in the bible. This is because the era of divine prophecy had concluded. There was also a feeling of being post-biblical Jews, meaning they felt that no matter how good a proposed new book for the Bible was, it did not matter since the Bible was closed for new additions. However, there is evidence that as late as the second century CE there was an ongoing debate occurring regarding certain books that had originally been included in the biblical canon that some rabbis believed should be removed. This debate is displayed in a Mishnah where the books Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs are discussed with the concept of ones hands becoming impure following contact with these holy books.[4] A difficult concept to understand, the essence of the idea is that if holy books make ones hands impure, they would be handled more delicately, and the very few hand-written copies in circulation at the time would be protected from too much use. An additional explanation for this idea, is that there was holy bread that people would place next to the holy books, thinking that since both were considered holy it was an appropriate thing to do. However, it was found that rodents nibbling on the food would also gnaw on the scrolls, thereby damaging them. Therefore, the rule was put in place to prevent damage to the books. The debate regarding this rule with respect to Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs in this Mishnah is whether the two books mentioned render ones hands impure, meaning are they considered holy like the other books that compile the biblical canon. The Mishnah brings several differing opinions on the subject, and it is clear that while both books remain in the Biblical Canon and are considered holy like all the others, there was, at some point, a debate about whether they should have continued to be included. It is evident that the ancient Jewish authorities recognized the centrality of the biblical canon to Judaism and took the task of compiling which books were appropriate for inclusion very seriously. Working with an understanding that the collection of books they were putting together would be studied intimately and thoroughly for thousands of years, they made the decision that only those books whose stories had applicable lessons for future generations would be included. Potential volumes that told of times where no lasting life instruction could be gleaned were dismissed. Materials that did not help to further ones relationship with God were also dismissed, since a key component of the biblical canon is to bring individuals closer to God as well as to teach individuals what God expects from them, ethically and morally, through Gods actions in the bible. A final criterion for inclusion in the biblical canon was the time in which an event happened. If the book was written after the er a of revelation had stopped, it was automatically disregarded since the biblical canon was closed to new additions that were not divinely inspired. The ancient Jewish authorities and their rabbinic heirs did not subscribe to the New Testament or the Koran because they did not agree with the belief that those books were of divine inspiration. Thus, their criteria for inclusion was intended as a protection against future man-made and human-inspired works that potentially negated or contradicted the precepts of the Torah. In sum, the ancient Jewish authorities were aware of the tremendous responsibility of compiling a canon of books that would be relevant for future generations and would hold strong the ideal of emulating Gods ways with fealty and steadfast allegiance. With that in mind, they established detailed criteria to follow to ensure that even thousands of years later, an individual could open these books to look in the creased pages of time to reveal eternal knowledge and wisdom of how one can transform their experience of life today. References Segal, Eliezer. Introducing Judaism. Vol. 4. Routledge, 2009 [1] Joshua 1:8 Bible RSV [2]Segal, Eliezer. Introducing Judaism. Vol. 4. Routledge, 2009, 147. [3] Ibid. 15 [4] Mishnah Yadayim 3:5

Friday, September 20, 2019

Crossâ€Cultural Management in Albania

Cross–Cultural Management in Albania Brunilda Mucollari Daniela Hallaci Jona Likskendaj Arli Barxhani Eraldo Bode Date: 01/20/2014 Course: Organizational Behavior Leadership Instructor: Dr. Perparim Dervishi Part I â€Å"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster.† (www.uscivilizatio.com) Globalization, the land on which Cross – Cultural Management was sawed Intro Globalization is now becoming the future of the world. Humanity is now walking on the path that leads to, what we call â€Å"Becoming One†. Technology innovation is the main factor of this process. It brings people and cultures up together and by doing so they learn and enjoy each other’s way of living. The process seems to be long and basically changing us and bringing in front what we can consider positive or negative effects. People from different cultures in fact might have conflicts when working together, or they might share experiences and improve their selves. Cultures intercept each other to exchange knowledge, traditions and experience and history has taught this to us. On the other hand has also taught us that cultures exchange goods. At this point we come to the creation of a distinct concept; Cross – Cultural Management. Cross-Cultural Management â€Å"Cross-cultural management explains the behavior of people in organizations around the world and shows them how to work in organizations with employees and client populations from many different cultures.† (Kawar, 2012) Multinational companies existed as early as 2 000 B.C.; the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Romans – they all had their own version of globalize trading. Multinational Management is getting more and more necessary for all kinds of branches as the global market is shrinking. In the past century operation between advanced industrial countries had it up and downs. Because of the two world wars this partnership came to a halt. This wars, on the other hand gave a boost later on to the global market. After and between the two wars the World Bank was Created, International Monetary Fund and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and after the Berlin Wall fall new markets were opened to the free trade. These new emerging markets gave chances and opportunities to the business sector to increase their revenues. In fact every country has its culture and makes them distinguishable from each other, as in fact every country has its middle class that was and is willing to buy more international products and services. The need to decrease the costs without affecting the revenue but on contrary increase them makes the global entrepreneurs to invest and construct th eir plants in locations that provide lower cost of production. While companies grow and enter the international trade, their size increases with their earnings. When this happens the companies need to established their activity overseas and after than monitoring their activities across the border. This is in fact where cross-cultural management enters on the stage. Under these circumstances more and more the need for management is needed in the operations abroad. Managers often are part of the shareholder’s nationality, in other words an American business in Albania will definitely send an America citizen to manage their operations in Albania. The cultures are different between the two countries and this diversification brings up its problems. Problems â€Å"Cross†?!?! Dealing with people from different cultures and nationalities has its own problems. The main problem that Cross-Cultural Management faces is barriers. Barriers complicate the ongoing of operations and processes and tend to create mostly misunderstandings. The main barriers are: Language Culture Company Culture Language is the first tool when interacting with people. English is accepted as the international language all around the world and business has embraced this idea, but every country uses its own language firstly when dealing and communicating. Having said so, people have to learn first English even though it is not enough. The problem here is that words can lose their meaning when translated and the thought also. Culture also creates a huge barrier by its set of values, language, behavior, business ethics, expected etiquette or expressions. So if a manager operating in a foreign culture does not know the differences in the hosting culture, his or her message can be misunderstood. Company Culture mainly is considered as the norms and expectations that a company implies. This includes policies and specific procedures, the basis of a company’s culture. When a company enlarges its operations it is needed to find a connection between the cultures in order for the company culture to be accepted by the hosting culture. Culture shape Cross-Cultural Management! The vast part of a culture is absorbed by people during their childhood by the interaction with the surrounding people and environment and by doing so it helps people live within their society. Culture can be found on four different levels: National Level has to do with the differences between cultures in a national point of view. It deals with the values that people learn during their early life that becomes unchangeable and saint for them. Organizational level is the culture that is created within an organization and that is superficial. This culture is different from the company culture because it can change from an organization to another within the same country. Occupational level deals with different cultures created within an organization. This means that different cultures can be created in all departments of an organization. Gender level has to do with the cultures men and women create within their gender. This level can be defined as the most common one. In fact all the upper paragraphs are a theoretical overview of Cross-Cultural Management and this is what generally happens around the world but will all this theory feet in the Albanian reality. To give an idea about this point an Albanian case is presented in the second part of the paper. Part II EDUCATIONAL CENTRE RESEARCH Presentation of the Problem There are differences in cultures in general between countries, in addition to this there are differences among working countries as well. The problem is how this affects the way of managing the organization. Educational Centre is a company that operates in six countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Rumania, Montenegro, and Serbia. It is a Greek company and it has succeeded well. It is interesting to see how the different Bookshops are dealing with culture differences. Educational Centre main office is placed in Thessaloniki, Greece and it has branches in six countries. We will concentrate our thoughts on the below: Are there any differences in how the six offices in the different countries are managed? If yes, are they a result of national business culture differences? If not, why are there no differences? Purpose The purpose of this research is to get an insight on how difficult is to manage a company across cultures. The purpose is to come up with a result that will reflect this or with a solution to dealing with differences. Countries of Study The countries in the study are the branches of Educational Centre in six countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Rumania, Montenegro, Serbia Research Method There are different approaches in developing a research paper. We have chosen the qualitative method which is more about having long interviews with a smaller amount of people in order to get more detailed information. The purpose of this method is to receive thorough descriptions and it is very useful when you do not know much of the phenomenon, or very small amounts of researches have already been done, as in the case of Educational Centre. Although the qualitative approach does not give any foundation, which can be used as a generalization for results. The purpose of the research is to get more thorough knowledge and understanding how Educational Centers in six countries , the qualitative approach will be used with a deductive approach. Six branch managers in six countries will be interviewed. The selective selection of the interviews has been on the purpose of getting in contact with people that have great insight on how things work in an Educational Centre. So the analysis of the Qualitative approach will consist: Type of Data: Qualitative data, text sections which illustrate theoretical variables or categories Flexibility: Big Data and analysis: Interpret , in consecutive order and integrated with data collection Use beyond the concrete examination: Transferability All the interviews were intended to be filled in an sent back by email but in the end we had to Skype called and filled in with the answers. What is culture? Culture is a set of basic values, perceptions, wants and behaviors, related to achievement and success, activity and involvement, efficiency and practicality, progress, comfort, individualism, freedom, humanitarianism, youthfulness, fitness and health. Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants and behavior, learned by a member of the society from the family, his own life experience and other important institutions; COMPANY CULTURE? Organizational Culture: is the set of values, norms, standards of behavior, and common expectations that control the ways individuals and groups in an organization interact with each other and work together to achieve the organizational goals. The History of Educational Centers The Educational Centers were first opened in Rumania and Bulgaria in 1992 (at that time known as Oxford Centers) providing the exclusivity of Oxford University Press in both ELT and Academic publications. Mr. Petros Papasarantoupoulos is their owner. Later on in 1994 they opened the offices in Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Moldova. The business has increased rapidly by the novelty it offered in six countries which before 1990 were all isolated to foreign publishing’s and were eager to leering foreign languages which was totally forbidden in communist times. In the coming years the business was going to expand to more than just an International Bookshop. It was going to Provide International Exams and International Qualifications for Teachers which was so much needed in order to meet the international standards. The Vision of Educational Centers Expand and the success of the business was due to a vision which Educational Centre followed: BETTER BOOKS, BETTER SERVICES. This was the philosophy everybody had to be focused how to be better. The Educational Centre Organization The company has such a flat structure. The Central Office is in Thessaloniki Greece and the branches are in the below countries directly depending on the Main office Thessaloniki: Educational Centre Albania Educational Centre Bulgaria Educational Centre Rumania Educational Centre Serbia Educational Centre Montenegro Educational Centre Moldova Results and Analysis It is important in analyzing the central office and the inspiration that this central office located in Thessaloniki is transmitting to its subordinate, Managers in six countries. Out of the questionnaire that is Appendix 1 at the end of this research paper resulted that , The global manager was a skilled one and he almost always took care of all the skills he is required to have in order to be successful. He paid too much attention of the regional differences in terms of subordinate and much more attention in terms of suppliers in international cultures. Attention was paid to his subordinates in terms of respect and always asked for the best possible to include all his managers in setting strategies and being involved in team decisions. So ethical values that they should respect in the company were central to the CEO of Educational Centers . Business Culture Due to the fact that almost all of these countries were mainly coming out of the Communism effects in the 1990s they were relatively quiet new to business culture. While people in Greece, from antiquity, have been quite skilled with business and trade. A new culture was imposed to these people in the all these countries. They were more than open to a new business and especially focused in Foreign Literature. But there was needed a knowhow to settle it in a conservative market. The imposed culture in all these countries has been almost similar but being adapted in the way it could have been most successful. The results given in this table are coming as an analysis of the questionnaire given to the Managers in all these countries, revealed in the Appendix 2 in the end. In the analysis you will see that there are some slight changes between management in some countries due to the slight cultural differences. The Analysis In all these countries as we may see there are a lot of similarities. First of all the structure is flat and the people are freely invited to talk to local managers and express their opinions. Every company uses first name based communications, which makes the atmosphere more warm and human based. The employee seems to be trusted only 10% turnover seems to be present in some countries, which means that people feel comfortable and happy to work for the company. The company pays attention to the worked by organizing trips and meetings which helps so much in building the team spirit. An important impact from the analysis is also the values inside the company. People from the selection phase before entering the job are requested to be honest, responsible, loyal which are important in building a team spirit inside the companies. Although may be slight changes in the order and qualities requested as the most important in a company. But they all are important and they all respect an inspired top management atmosphere. Cross Cultural differences There may be seen slight changes in the way people from these different countries see their colleagues in the other countries concerning the way they express their emotions. Some countries are more open than the others, but what is important is that they all pay attention in respecting their colleagues in other countries. We may also have to take into consideration if these is all the work of them or is an inspired leader to dictate their way? If we base our self at Appendix 1 analysis we will see that the figure of the Top Management shows how much are taken in to consideration the differences between cultures before making a decision and all the skills required to be a good manager in a cross cultural environment. Being a successful manager means: Gather information information about other cultures Have an open-minded approach to different cultures and values Show cultural differences and make the others aware of them and understand and gain valid experiences from them Learn from other cultural experiences and train people to attend cross cultural training and sessions All the above points are some of the most important noticed at the Educational Centre Top Management characteristics, which make him a skilled Global Manager. Results The noticeable result out of the research was that between Educational Centers in these countries tried hard to keep a unique culture, norms and values. The way that this is shown is that in every Educational Centre, everyone is participating in team building activities. The way they are all coping with cultural differences is very inspiring; it may seem somehow restricted to the Top management way. It is how they are working on preserving their own values and norms that are remarkable. From the very first day as an employee you will feel the culture and values within the institution, if you are not in tune with them they will be enforced upon you. So a newcomer will by rule follow the company trainings and then the sister companies trainings until being part of a trained team. The managers also participate in routine checkups to ensure that the staff is living by these norms, the staff answers questions regarding if the managers are working by them as well. You could say that Educational Centre does not fail on the aspect of taking in mind other countries’ cultures. They know about the different cultures in the countries where they enter, in order not to offend anyone. But they go on by imposing a similar culture. It is almost impossible for Educational Centers to offer what market offers, they have to be unique in what offer and their concept – it has been a winning concept so far. The main concerns for these companies, such as Educational centers, are to make sure they have strong culture on their own. They should have clear values and norms and this should be diffused throughout the entire organization. It is also necessary that everyone feels comfortable making their voice heard working in an environment with differences in cultures. If they would not be so open in the organization and having such a flat hierarchy there probably would be a lot more complications. References Publishing References Cross Cultural Management, Ray French , second edition, cipd Ajohannssen and P.A.Tufte 2003 Hofstede , Geert and Hofstede , Gerty Jan 2005 Interviews: B. Mucollari – Educational Centre Albania(Manager) R. Saric- Educational Centre Serbia(Manager) G. Puerda – Educational Centre Romania(Manager) T. Cernoc- Educational Centre Moldova (Manager) Bogovac – Educational Centre Montenegro (Manager) K. Tetova – Educational Centre Bulgaria (Manager) http://uscivilization.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/01/ Kawar, T.I (2012). Cross-cultural Difference in Management.Journal of Business and Social Science , 3(6), 107.