Labor Relations in International Business Essay

Our company has stood steadfast in all aspects of achieving success in our global operations. Our presence in the international markets considered in details each and every intricacies and relevant features of each of those market places. Topmost however to all of these detailed considerations is the working relationship we establish with the national workforce in each and every country. International labor relations focus on the human resources available and contributory to every foreign office we operate. As new, embarking sales professionals delving into the exciting and challenging global market – you must have the foresight and sensitivity in relating to different kinds of culture; of habits; or laws; of working styles; professional methods – apart from a dash of individual idiosyncrasies. Your ability to work through those factors and variances will go a long way in sustaining our success in the international business arena. Multinational companies such as ours move on a fast paced and challenging global environment due to the rapid advancement in technology and transportation mode. The swift interconnectivity of human beings in this 21st century invigorates constant change in product qualities and standards; incites innovates customer relationship techniques; and most of all enhances speedy delivery of services. Competition is therefore constant and very much alive and challenging as new market segments arise; new methods of packaging, advertising and marketing strategy come to fore; and aggressive servicing strategies arise. This wide arena of competition makes multinational companies look for operating in foreign markets within the lowest cost possible at a faster pace; sustained quality of product and customer service and innovative marketing techniques. Our sales operations overseas are overseen by designated Country Managers who is overall responsible for every aspect of running the business. We opted to appoint a national citizen of every sales branch. This is more effective as he creates the teamwork and networking within the country of operation. The Country Manager is supervised by the Regional Manager. There are company policies we hand over to the Country Managers specifically with regards to product image handling and pricing. However, the rest of the operational requirements are inherently conceptualized and designed by the Country Manager, together with his team with regards to growing the business and developing the market and relating to customers. The focal aspect with regards to labor and human relations policies are likewise pretty much within the guidelines and jurisdiction of the labor laws of each country. The pertinent recognition and respect is given to compensation guidelines; minimum wage parameters; overtime rewards; bonus; work perks like healthy insurance coverage; work safety standards and laws on working hours. The Country Manager is likewise given leverage in making decisions about observance of holidays and national and religious festivities inherent in the country of operation. As we operate as trader and sellers and each country, the issue of labor union and collective bargaining has not arisen yet. Each of our overseas operations is staffed approximately between 100 to 150 personnel and this does not call for such aspect of labor relations. The company therefore looks forward to your success and enjoyable learning experience in our spearheading global business. Please feel free to talk to your management team for any inquiries or clarification you seek.

Family Vacations to Disneyland

After packing four adults and one child into a small car and traveling for two days we finally reached our destination. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the front entrance of Disneyland; finally my childhood dream had come true. I was overjoyed with emotions that I was able to not only fulfill a dream of my own, but provide a vacation for my kid that he would never forget. After getting through the front gates it seems like your day flies by without you even noticing.There’s so much to do and so little time in a day to get through all the exciting rides. I was just as sad as my kid when we had to leave the park when closing hours came. With our stuffed animals, Mickey ears, and cotton candy in hand we left the park glad that we had one more day to come back to enjoy the fun. Many years ago a vacation such as this might not have been as feasible as it is now for the average American family. Theme parks including Disneyland have for a long time served as a cultural symbol f or our country that thrives off being entertained.Families need places where they can go that everyone can have a good time and not have to worry about work or school. With as many resources available now, there has become more opportunities for families to provide vacations to theme parks such as Disneyland. The term theme park didn’t catch on until the beginning of Disneyland. Before then places like Coney Island were where families could go to get cheap thrills. Disneyland may not have been the first theme park but it certainly brought new ideas that no one had done before.The combination of development of audio-animatronics, themed sections of the park, shopping and food made for a place with mass appeal. Having been famous in film certainly helped in the popularity of the park as well. The first place that a lot of people might think about for a family vacation is Disneyland. Besides Disneyland being a fun place for a vacation, it has also been seen as an American staple for a dream family vacation. It’s a place specially made for people of all ages to truly enjoy themselves.Going on a family vacation not only can be fun and relaxing but provide for time to build and strengthen bonds, create everlasting memories, and create chances to learn new things. Even in times where money can be tight, by researching your possibilities and providing ample time for planning, vacations don't always end up breaking the bank. Bigger family vacations, such as Disneyland, need ample time to save up money for and can't just be planned over a couple of weeks. With all the resources that we have now compared to what there used to be, it helps for planning.There are all kinds of travel websites that have packaged deals for hotels, flights, and rental cars. Along with added packages for trips like Disneyland that provide park tickets and discounts. It seems like in today's busy world that family time isn't held as important as it once was and can be easily pushed aside. More and more parents have to work longer hours or weekends to make ends meet. Also the rate of single parents has increased dramatically over the last couple decades, which can cause a struggle for having quality time together.Even though my family and I all have hectic schedules we have always found spending time together to be extremely important. Whether that be playing board games, going on walks, or even reading a book. It not only keeps us close but also helps instill good values for our kids to pass down. This is one of the reasons why my husband and I wanted to take a vacation to Disneyland. We wanted to provide a vacation that would give us time to not have to worry about schedules or homework and be able to just relax and have fun.Another reason why I hold strong values on family time is because I didn't come from a family that had any. I've seen how not spending time can impact you as a kid on up into adulthood. American families now spend more time apart from ea ch other than together. This causes families to grow apart; parents have a hard time relating to their own kids and even struggle to know how to talk to them. Though coming from a family that did struggle so much with connecting has made me really cherish every moment that I spend with my own family.Disneyland has been a symbol of American culture for over 50 years and will continue to be for years to come. Being a country that loves our entertainment, theme parks will continue to trend in popularity. With better technology over the years family vacations to places such as Disneyland have become easier for families to access. Hopefully over time more and more families will understand the importance of spending time together and going on vacations. Making everlasting memories together is something that can never be taken away and will hopefully be passed on for generations to come.

Descartes’ Epistemology Essay

Carefully explain Descartes’ cogito and his attempt to build his knowledge structure from the ground up. (Be as succinct as possible.) Does Descartes succeed or fail in that attempt? Justify your answer in full. Descartes’ Epistemology. This essay attempts to explain Descartes’ epistemology of his knowledge, his â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† concept (found in the Meditations), and why he used it [the cogito concept] as a foundation when building his structure of knowledge. After explaining the concept I give a brief evaluation of his success in introducing and using this cogito as a foundation. Finally, I provide reasons why I think Descartes succeeded in his epistemology. The First Meditation began with Descartes deciding to employ radical scepticism in his quest of acquiring true knowledge and this lead him to conclude that he could not be sure of anything except that he knew nothing (Descartes, 1984:12-15). Meaning that Descartes discarded all his knowledge whether it was knowing that he had fingers, knowing that the physical world existed, knowledge of his studies etc. he began by acknowledging how everything that constituted his preconceived knowledge could be doubt worthy. This climax of doubt was rooted in one fact: Descartes felt that there was good reason to believe that a higher power could have deceived him into believing that his empirical and a priori knowledge was plausible. Since God is a higher power that Descartes believed to be all good and never deceptive, he named his deceiver the â€Å"Evil Demon† a complete opposite to his wholesome observation of God (Blackburn, 2001:19). Descartes established that the â€Å"Evil Demon† argument could wipe away any assurance of his prior knowledge except for one: his existence (Descartes, 1984:17). This was a good argument because it presented a well thought out reason to question his knowledge. Descartes argued that if an â€Å"Evil Demon† truly existed and is only focused on deceiving him then this proves that he [Descartes] exists†¦ â€Å"If he is deceiving me; and let him deceive me as much as he can, he will never bring about that I am nothing so long as I think that I am something†¦ I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is†¦conceived in my mind† (Blackburn, 2001:20). It is possible to refute this definition of existence in the form  of: Do we suppose that a thinking thing exists because it has experienced thoughts? According to the Second Meditation Descartes’ response would be that ‘I am, I exist’ stands only for a thing that is doing the thinking now and if it were to cease thinking it would cease to exist altogether (Descartes, 1984:18). In addition it is not the thinking that lead to existence, but the existence lead to the thinking. Descartes was willing to be questioned about his knowledge of the world and to prove that he truly sought the correct answer to any objection that may be raised; he overlooked everything he knew and started to build an argument from scratch to assert the knowledge he would later accept as accurate. Thus, Descartes chose the cogito concept as a foundation that he could begin to enlarge his territory of understanding on. From observation it is clear that Descartes only began his Meditations to build a foundation of understanding and since he had discarded all his prior knowledge he needed a solid base to begin reconstructing on, hence the cogito concept emanates. â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† is Latin for â€Å"I think, therefore I am†. The cogito argument is as follows: 1. An evil demon might be deceiving me into believing that I don’t exist. 2. If I believe that I don’t exist, then I exist. 3. I exist. This argument states that, â€Å"if I convinced myself of something then I certainly existed† (Descartes, 1984:17). This simply means that anyone doubting his or her own existence or presence indeed exists because in order for doubt to take place there has to be someone to do it. A proper understanding of the cogito concept means recognizing specifically the classification in which this ‘someone’ that is existing fits into and whether it is accurate to say that he or she exists. The argument, as Descartes presented, does not give a valid reason for the existence of the body or anything else in the physical world, so we cannot accept that bodies exist. Neither does the cogito account for the existence of other minds as that would entail knowledge of the physical world where other things exist. The cogito concept does however; give a valid argument for the existence of the mind or a thinking thing that exists independently of the body. In his  novel Think, Blackburn explains the cogito concept as a means of justifying the core of one’s existence as thinking, we accept that thought exists not a ‘self’ (Blackburn, 2001:20). I agree with Blackburn because his [Descartes’] concept serves well to prove that we exist as thinking things and even if we were to discard any a priori or a posteriori knowledge, we can still endorse the cogito. The cogito concept stands regardless of empirical knowledge because it suggests the existence of thought without actually linking it to the body (which constitutes a sort of empirical way of acquiring knowledge through the senses). In addition, it can be accepted without any a priori knowledge since Descartes only introduced it after concluding that he knew nothing, and could only accept knowledge of his own existence as vindicated. To assess Descartes choice of foundation I will raise some questions that implore an explanation regarding the cogito concept. Firstly, if we only exist when thinking and the â€Å"Evil Demon† is able to manipulate our knowledge of everything else, why are our thoughts not susceptible to his deception? In my perspective, the â€Å"Evil Demon† has the ability to deceive us to a certain point, that point is our existence, and we have established that our existence leads to thinking. Descartes supposed that the ‘Evil Demon† may have influenced our thoughts but the thought he [Evil Demon] could not alter is the thought of us thinking. For example, if I were to throw a plastic ball into a recycle bin and it were melted and reshaped into a mug, although the state of the ball may have changed it is still plastic and even if we discard its previous state its present state shows that it is indeed existing and I cannot convince the plastic that it never existed just because it is in a different state. This example explains how our definition of existence may have changed but the fact remains that we exist hence we think. My example is another way of stating Descartes’ wax example(Descartes,1984:20-21), which according to Blackburn, he [Descartes] uses to confirm that with the cogito we can solidify that our thoughts exist regardless of them being immaterial, various and not constrained to a physical body (Blackburn, 2001:21). A second question could be, if we know(or supposedly accept) that we are being deceived by the â€Å"Evil Demon†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ wouldn’t that mean that we were aware of when we were not being deceived by him and so before we established our foundation(using the cogito concept), we had already accepted some knowledge which lead to the foundation? I think  Descartes would respond by saying that the fact that we can think of the â€Å"Evil Demon† and accept that he is deceiving us means that we already established the cogito before moving on to think of the actual idea of a deceiver, again we see that any thinking means something existed to do it(the thinking). This response seems to present some equivocation but unfortunately I think that any of Descartes’ responses may shift the burden of proof to the person who raised the question. His argument, as I would render it, may be that the question is going in circles and only raises doubt of his [Descartes] means of acquiring knowledge and not actually any objection to the cogito. This last response seems to credit Descartes success in establishing that the cogito is a concept that gives us the best potential start to gaining any knowledge. Even the knowledge of an â€Å"Evil Demon† would mean we have to start by accepting that we exist (cogito) in order to prove any of our knowledge as untrustworthy.  A third and final question is, what form of knowledge is the cogito and what other knowledge can we build on this foundation? The cogito is a form of a priori knowledge because we do not need to prove its validity by explaining anything or drawing on a previous experience to prove it. Descartes further used the cogito when acquiring the knowledge of Cartesian Dualism, which is his next step of building knowledge that is rooted in the cogito. Descartes said that Cartesian Dualism is justified by the cogito because we only have knowledge of an existing ‘thinking’ entity that has no body, hence the body and the mind should be viewed as separate and neither one has the ability to influence the other (Descartes, 1984:21). I think the cogito concept provokes a sense of identity that each of our thinking may contain and this identity entails that as much as the â€Å"Evil Demon† may try to take away our knowledge we still have that little something, as thinking beings, that can only be explained as an existence. This entity of our existence is immaterial, yes, but it leads us into thinking and thinking is our starting point of gaining new knowledge. Therefore Descartes succeeded in his epistemology by choosing â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† as a base for his future knowledge. Once the cogito is accepted Descartes can acquire new knowledge. In conclusion Descartes’ processes of building a knowledge structure foundation was fruitful and ultimately leads to a successful epistemology. Bibliography Blackburn, S. 1999. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press. Descartes, R. 1984. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. II, Cottingham, Stoothoff and Murdoch (Translators).UK: Cambridge University Press. Lerm, J. 2013. [Descartes’ ‘Second Meditation’: The Cogito Argument] Lecture Slides. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. J. Lerm [Rebulding Begins] lecture slide 2 [ 2 ]. Lerm [The Cogito Argument] lecture slide 7

Yorkshire Tourism Investment Research Coursework

Yorkshire Tourism Investment Research - Coursework Example However, the region has a lot of untapped potential towards offering more quality and increase revenues through a few unexplored avenues. The Yorkshire region is home to some beautiful landscapes and a vast countryside that can offer numerous opportunities for visitors to experience nature (Beeton, 2010). Tapping the tourist element in the rural countryside will also be economically beneficial to the local communities besides providing them a unique opportunity to showcase their tradition and culture. Any development of eco-tourism in coordination with these local communities must however be implemented through a sustainable framework that can ensure long-term growth and prevent any damage to the local environment. Key Drivers and Objectives ‘Rural tourism’ is a relatively new concept in the United Kingdom (UK) whose importance and growth potential were recognized by the government. Grants such as the ‘Yorkshire Forward’ are available to individuals and firm s that aspire to develop a tourism related business in the rural parts of Yorkshire. The ‘Yorkshire Forward’ grants are offered through the RDPE (Rural development program for England) (Hall, 2010). The grant program was initiated after an extensive research by the RDPE which sensed the need to enhance the quality of tourist facilities and accommodation available in the rural regions of Yorkshire. Grants can fund up to 50% of the total cost of such projects up to a maximum amount of ?25,000 upon fulfilling a few conditions (Goodall, 2008). The key focus is to improve the standards of serviced accommodation, self-catered hotels and rural pubs by introducing new bedrooms of better quality or upgrading any current facilities that may help the business develop further. Any such initiative must help develop a long-term relationship with customers so that they may prefer to visit again, thereby improving the prospects of the regional economy. From a macroeconomic perspective, the importance of tourism in Yorkshire’s economy cannot be underestimated. The sector contributed over ?5 billion in 2008, with over 90% of the visitors originating from the UK. Amongst these tourists, day visitors contributed around 45% of the revenues while the rest was contributed by staying tourists. International tourists also accounted for ?400 million in revenues (Holman, 2008). The peak season for tourism is summer although trips to the countryside can be organized throughout the year. Another important segment that could prove beneficial for rural tourism is business tourism, which constitutes over a quarter of tourism in Yorkshire. Beeton (2005) says that events such as corporate meetings and conferences can be organized in the countryside and promoted effectively as a low-cost and environment friendly alternative to conventional solutions. There are however several issues and risk factors that must also be evaluated and minimized efficiently to embolden the confid ence among tourists regarding rural Yorkshire. While the rural parts enjoy a dense road network in terms of connectivity, accessibility through air is relatively underdeveloped. Improving international connectivity and encouraging tour operators is an important consideration if rural tourism is to become a popular success. Local airports like the Leeds Bradford and Robin Hood must be upgraded as required to cater to domestic and overseas travelers and connectivity from these airports to any part of the Yorkshire region must be improved (Coles, 2008). Occupancy rates in rural Yorkshire are also lower than the regional or national average (at 60% and 82% respectively) (Spencer, 2008). Thus, any promotional initiatives and development projects must consider the aspect of improving

An Analysis of the History and Development of the European Union Essay

An Analysis of the History and Development of the European Union - Essay Example This study focuses on the development of the European Union on account of integration. The European Community was constituted, in order to restore peace in Europe subsequent to the Second World War. It was formed with the sole objective of preventing war, and to bring about peace and friendship between the inimical countries of Europe. To this end, efforts were made to not only establish better relations between France and Germany, but also to reintroduce Germany into the comity of nations as a responsible and competent state. This move was undertaken, principally, to strengthen Western unity, which helped to establish unilateral action that dispelled the fear of retaliation by the Eastern countries. Therefore, the fundamental objective of establishing the European Community was to build up mutual confidence between the East and the West. The second objective of the EC was to eliminate economic disparities, which had emerged during the 1930s, in Europe by ignoring the global recovery policy. There was a huge economic crisis, and almost all the nations in Europe had sustained a downward economic trend. This situation resulted in a number of dictatorships. Subsequent to the end of World War II, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation or OEEC established some measures for economic uplift in the European nations. The European Community built upon the efforts of the OEEC and established a common market in Europe, by pooling all the economic resources of its Member States.

U.A.E - the Greatest Industrial Hubs Term Paper

U.A.E - the Greatest Industrial Hubs - Term Paper Example Huge amount of investment is going on in this industry all over the world. This situation is not only encouraging more innovations in the field but also creating great and positive competitions in the world between different telecommunication companies. Middle East known by its enriched oil resources all over the world and this region is also a part of economical, political and social changes taking place all over the world since the time being. Most of the Middle East is known by west as biased towards fundamentalism concepts of religion. U.A.E has played a vital role in developing healthier and positive relations between west and east effectively (Etihad). Etisalat is the major telecommunication company in United Arab Emirates U.A.E and it is also one of the main companies present in Arabian Peninsula and Africa. It was founded in 1976 and became leading telecommunication service provider in the region. Over the last few years it has became one of the greatest corporations in the w orld creating partnerships with different telecommunication companies that are present in the world. It not only enabled U.A.E to have basic telecommunication services. ...Etisalat is the first company of the region which used Geographical information systems (GIS). Network convergence which is a concept becoming reality now days GIS is used by the company to specify network operations, increasing of customer satisfaction and relations and providing a way for innovations and developments. Over the years Etisalat is the company which has done many in-house updates accommodation all the modern ideas happening in this field. Etisalat is the company which has focused itself delivering innovative services and speeding of social and economic growth (Etislat 2011, 2-9). Etisalat’s international acquisition started from 2004 by wining second mobile phone license and first 3G services license in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Etisalat is the company which has experienced a great innovation in the field and became one of the greatest expanding companies. The satellite network of company covers almost two-third of earth’s surface. For almost 40 years Etisalat has helped its mother nation U.A.E to sustain its image as one of the greatest business hub present in the region. It provides reliable and high quality services favoring foreign investments. It is the one of the companies which has put its mother nation in top 10 countries regarding telecommunication services. Etisalat is the pioneer regarding the practicing of new technologies for both fixed line and wireless networks. It has installed first fiber optic network making Abu-Dhabi first city to have fiber optic network (Etisalat 2011, pages 3 to10). Etisalat is a multinational company which has companies from all over the world as its partners.

Cross-Cultural Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Cross-Cultural Communication - Essay Example Some say relations come before work regardless of the situation, whereas other cultures may not agree with this point.   Individuals should profoundly understand the differences between cultures before starting work in any multicultural organization at the global level, which is constantly becoming more common business practice today (LeBaron). This article enhances that time and space should be the powerful and effective tool in cross-cultural communication. Time perceptions is about punctuality and willingness to wait, in addition the time impact on, people is also refer as the speediness of verbal communication that how long people are keen to listen. Time and space as referred in the article can make a great difference in terms of the future aspiration and productivity. Being a student, I have come across many people from different cultural backgrounds (LeBaron). I have noticed that students from the Far East are much more conscious about time, and they are always quick in terms of assignments submission, project activities and time management since they strongly believe â€Å"time is money†. While, students from Asia are known for procrastination in their work, Western students are relatively more punctual and follow deadlines because they consider time as money. The issues that are caused by such cultural differences with respect to time and space should be co-ordinated in group meetings (LeBaron). I suggest that in order to get away with the issues of multiculturalism in a group project as mentioned above, it is necessary to conduct a briefing session for all the members of the group. This will help in understanding the goal and dimension of the group work. In this way, members of the group will be able to refine their abilities and decide which task to work on. It is also recommended that members of the group are

Read a story and analyse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Read a story and analyse - Essay Example One of the interesting aspects of this case is the other characters mentioned in the story. For instance, Mary left Alison (her six-month-old daughter) in the house and went to see her mother. Was the mother not aware that Alison did not accompany Mary? Is there a possibility that her mother was not aware of Alison’s existence? This case covers a large number of light issues, but avoids some of the details that would have assisted the judges to determine if Mary was insane or mentally incapacitated, or if she was sane but just careless. Mary also went to her fiancà © and lived there for a while before realizing that something was not right. Didn’t her fiancà © question Mary of Alison’s whereabouts? Is there a possibility that her fiancà © was not aware of Alison’s existence? With the parties being witnesses in the case, such questions would have assisted in gauging the awareness and Mary’s mental capacity. As part of the judiciary, trying to understand Mary’s reality would be the first assessment. Her levels of prioritization are completely wrong. She considers pursuing her individual interests and forgets any other parties in her life, including her daughter. In the first case, the case presents Mary as to have intentionally killed Alison. She says that she had left Alison in the house knowing that she would be dead in a few days. Whatever the case, most people might argue that Mary was not mentally capacitated to raise a child. Most people who abandon their children would have at least the courtesy to leave the baby at a location where another person might take care of the child. However, Mary would opt to leave the baby in her house with a stranger who was disabled, rather than have the child survives. However, she also says that while she was in California with her fiancà ©, she began to feel that something was wrong. It is evident that her testimony is rather conflicting. For instance, the case above indicates that Mary might have intended to kill

Optimization methods in Linear programming Lab Report

Optimization methods in Linear programming - Lab Report Example SABIC, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, is one among the mainstream manufactures of metals, plastics, chemicals, and fertilizers (SABIC, 2014). The manufacturing of metal and plastics indicates that the company is one among the busiest in the world as the consumption of metal and plastics is in the increase due to demand for building/construction materials, packaging, and insulation material (SABIC, para. 1-5). However, while the company also manufactures chemicals and fertilizers, it is expected that the management of all activities can be hectic. Nevertheless, the company has a variety of technical solutions that provide automated management of resources. However, where automated machinery is required, it is expected that supervision regarding functionality of the system is minimal and at times seasonally fluctuating. Thus, one among the major problems that the company is currently facing include the management of resources to yield the best results. Regarding this problem, the company is not doing anything wrong to limit its capacity capabilities; on the contrary, the company appreciates the need to optimize the current system such that it can lead to minimized costs of production and holding inventory. The overall performance of the company is determined by how well configured an automated systems in making optimal use of the allocated resources. In the production of the products identified above, SABIC is faced with two levels of problems that require linear programming to solve; such that the output of the company meets the fluctuating demand. Firstly, the company produces different types of products whose demand varies seasonally – the company in this case is unable to accurately predict how much demand it would be facing in the coming financial period. Secondly, provided that demand fluctuates with reference to the type of products such as fertilizers which are

Information Technology Management Essay Example for Free

Information Technology Management Essay Information and communication technologies play critical roles in sustaining an organizations growth and profitability (Galliers Leidner, 2003). If managed properly, investments in information and communication technologies can improve efficiency and effectiveness of business processes and an organization’s competitive posture in the market. Proper management of information and communication technologies investments can also enrich people’s lives in the organization improving job satisfaction and productivity. Galliers Leidner, 2003). Success in managing information and communication investments depend largely on exercising good management practices like human capital management, staff training management, information technology architecture management and software management (Galliers Leidner, 2003). However, with all the potential benefits of investments in information and communication projects, they can be risky, costly and unproductive if not managed properly (Galliers Leidner, 2003). Organizations should therefore strive to attract and retain information technology personnel that are qualified and talented to ensure the success of information and technology investments. This is further complicated by a tight information and technology labor market where qualified information and technology personnel enjoy high mobility. Discussion The position I am required to design is a leadership position intended to provide technical direction and guide an organization in implementing strategic information and communication projects (Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2010). The occupant of this position is expected to be able to handle a wide range of duties and responsibilities. He or she should be able to use his/ her exposure, technical experience and business knowledge in developing an organization’s technical plans and to advise senior management on information technology strategies, standards and governance (Galliers Leidner, 2003). In addition he or she will be expected to monitor the industry’s trends in information technology and respond appropriately by formulating long term information technology strategies capable of improving an organization’s competitiveness. The senior information technology manager will work under the general supervision of the chief executive officer. In line with work plans and resource allocation coordination provided by the chief executive officer, he or she will be responsible for effective planning, supervision and delivery of assigned functions that fall within an information and communication department (Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2010) so as to ensure that an organization’s requirements for information systems and information technology are effectively and efficiently met. He will also be responsibility for ensuring that an organization’s computer systems have the capacity to meet the business needs of an organization by either upgrading existing systems or developing new systems (Info Tech Employment, 2008). Additional functions will include participation in planning, coordinating and setting policies for the development and implementation of an organization’s information technology strategies, supporting standards, procedures and practices, supervising and coordinating works of external firms in special projects or functions to ensure quality and timely delivery, providing consultant services in regards to procurement of new information technology equipments and computer systems, supervising members of staff assigned to special projects or functions and coordinating their training and development to ensure that they are up to the tasks and finally, developing and monitoring key performance indicators of assigned functions within an information technology department (Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2010). The senior information technology manager is expected to have an excellent working knowledge in information technology and a commitment to keep up to dat e with the latest development (Galliers Leidner, 2003). He should demonstrate people’s management skills with an ability to motivate staff members, provide a cooperative and productive work environment, manage resources effectively to achieve objectives, organize and coordinate work in the department and explain technical issues clearly (Info Tech Employment, 2008). He or she will be tasked with leading changes that fall within the information technology department, hence must be able to integrate organizational and departmental goals, priorities and values. In addition, he or she should have experience in managing large scale projects in information systems and technology (Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2010). To fulfill these expectations, a university degree in computer science or related fields and appropriate professional certifications are mandatory. Moreover, the candidate of choice should have at least five years management experience in information technology. He should demonstrate experience with standard software applications and data manipulation, analysis and interpretation tools (Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2010). Conclusion Information technology investments can be very beneficial to an organization as a whole if they are managed properly. Organizations should therefore strive to hire and retain qualified, experienced and talented information technology managers. This is not easy given the current information technology labor market. The labor market is characterized by high mobility of qualified labor and organizations must put in place effective measures to ensure they hire the right people. One of the measures an organization should take is defining clear structures and responsibilities of all employees in the information technology department. The senior information technology manager will provide technical direction and guidance to the organization in implementing strategic information technology projects. He will be responsible for ensuring effective and efficient management of resources within the information technology department.

Michelangelo Antonioni and Women in Film

Michelangelo Antonioni and Women in Film Michelangelo Antonioni was an Italian film director, he was born In Ferrara, northern Italy, 1929. With Fellini he belongs to a so called provincial wave of Italian neorealist filmmakers,  not so distant from the metropolitan colleagues De Sica, Rossellini and Visconti. (Chatman 1985, Tinazzi 1994) While not initially fully appreciated by the tradition audience for his excessive intellectualism and pessimism. ( Crowther 1960, Hawkins 1960, Barthes 1994) Today, Antonioni is regarded one of the most influential personalities in Cinema. (Grenier 1960, Manceaux 1960, Fink 1935, Chatman 1989, Koehler 2015) His most remarkable works concern the sense of anguish and fragility of the modern society. (Di Carlo 1964, Lucantonio 2011) The characters belong to the idle rich society of the Italian post war, their boredom and sense of ennui robbed them of their ability to express their feelings and reduced them to speak in a feeble manner in attempt to conceal their sense of futility.(Chatman 1985, Pomerance 2011) Women, play leading roles Antonioni emphases womens ability to be more honest with human relations. A capacity virtually lost by intellectual men who are unable to supply any sort of sensitiveness. Not given by their inability to provide an alternative to boredom,  but by their complete unresponsiveness.(Pomerance 2011) Alberto Moravia in his Boredom (1960) wrote: Boredom is not the opposite of amusementboredom to me consists in a kind of insufficiency, or inadequacy, or lack of reality. it originates in a sense of the absurdity of a reality which is unable, to convince me of its own effective existence To modern man, the means to restore a link with reality is given by sexuality, however, if sexuality provides only a physical relief Eros is sick Antonioni (1962) says It is a symptom of the emotional sickness of our time [] man is unease, something is bothering him. And whenever something bothers him, man reacts, but he reacts badly, only on erotic impulse, and he is unhappy. Embodying many of the philosophical concerns associated with European existentialists Antonioni exposed the existential dilemma of modern man.(Barthes 1994, Darke 1995, Giannetti 1999, Holden 2006, Tomasulo 2008, Bortolini 2011) Antonioni dehumanized his characters of their personality and used them as devices to show the high psychological complexity of the unstable neurotic personalities of our time. (Lunn 1982, Melzer 2010) Melancholia, incommunicability, emptiness, alienation. All elements that characterize a life lacking in purpose and a general sense of spiritual vacuity Themes that are well represented in LAvventura (1959) and Il Deserto Rosso (1960). (Hoberman 2006) Lavventura, set amongst the remote Sicilian seashore, sees the search for a missing person Anna, disappeared during a boat trip. Sandro, her fiancà ©e, and Claudia, her best friend, start a search in a vain attempt to find her during which become attracted to each other and the search for Anna turns into a desire to not finding her anymore. Il Deserto Rosso, set in the overly industrialized outskirt of Ravenna, sees Giuliana, a neurotic woman, in the desperate attempt to keep a link with reality. Her troubled personality is split between a worried mother for her son Valerio, who fakes to be paralyzed at one point and adulterousness with a Corrado, a business associate of his neglectful husband, Ugo. Claudia and Giuliana seek for utopian ideals into dystopian worlds. From a side the sentimental ideal of Claudia: morally discomforted by choosing between finding her lost companion or keeping the shallow affair with Sandro. And on the other the existential ideal of Giuliana: in the desperate attempt to survive her depression in a sort of Darwinist mechanism of natural selection (Melzer 2010) To the neurotic personality everything appears absurd in life: family, work or even driving a car. Giuliana is a paradigmatic example of it. Jean Paul Sartre (1989) would say she lives in bad faith Living in bad faith means living not authentically, convincing oneself that there are no alternatives and pretending that something out there has meaning. Indeed, she bought a shop in Via Dante Alighieri, but she does not know what to do with it or she escapes by fantasizing about azure lagoons and warm beaches. (Salinari 1960) Giuliana is not frightened by modernity, she is not in tune with the industrialized world that oppresses her stimulus. Giuliana adjusted to this world, and learnt how to circulate in it and even though everyone around her accepted it, she refuses to respond to it Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity Freud stated (1977) The agonizing malaise of Giuliana, is given by her inability to tolerate a world that does not support her ideals and obliged her to accept her faith In contrast Ugo and Corrado have embraced the spirit of the XIX Century The industrial progress proceeds by neglecting the family bond or slowly crumbling it. Corrado has the spirit of the traveller and sees objects through the landscape in motion. For Corrado it means where to go, what to buy, who to hire, it is all about progress. For Giuliana it means where to stay, who to make boundaries with She needs to see things for their presence and perspective In LAvventura Claudias desire to find Anna is sincere. In spite of Sandro that has no real desire to find her. He would rather leave the mystery unsolved and move on. The characters vagabondage plays as an ephemeral mechanism of self relief to avoid further anxiety or sense of guilt by not even try (Chatman 1989) Both couples communicate through a sense of mutual pity. They try to explain their problems in virtually psychotic terms, though they fail to communicate to each other as they struggle to communicate with themselves first. They suffer from existential anxiety they are in desperate need to fulfil their sterile lives but, they dont know how. As much as Sandro and Corrado try to be supportive they at the end surrender to sexual temptation. Their emotive instinct degraded in consequence of repression and has been endlessly replaced by substitute-objects. (Chatman 1985) Corrado and Sandro are emblematic examples of the Freudian dyad of the modern manwhere the only two concerns of life are work and sex. Their sexual fulfilment is unsatisfactory and guilt ridden, eroticism is used as an anodyne to their moral dilemma and an outlet for frustration. (OLesser 1964) For modernists, sex is a contest and they would swap their beloved to the same extent they would accept or decline a work offer The room where they just spent hours talking about eroticism has no less meaning for them than for us, it can be taken apart to feed the fire as effortlessly as they can meet in there for a party. (Pomerance 2011) The dystopian realities depicted by Antonioni are environments that prevent emotions to flourish and the characters seem almost affected by a shapeless pain that withers their response to emotions. (Chatman1985) Anomie As called by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim(Slattery 2003) He described it as a malaise of the individual which absence of values and associated feelings of alienation lead him to a general sense of purposelessness in life. A concept that Albert Camus perfectly summed in the opening of his The Stranger (1942) Anomie is common in those societies that have gone through a period of significant economic changes and no exception is the post war Italy of the miracolo italiano Industrialization led men to bring together all their knowledge and strength into a sort of Nietzschean superhuman creation where the efficient modern man now, extension of the machine, seems to be at one with life but not less alienated, just unaware of his own condition. Modernity promoted an ideological discrepancy The ever-increasing split between moral man and scientific man [leads to the prevalence of eroticism as] a symptom of the emotional sickness of our time Antonioni (1962) said Modern man does not have the moral tools to match his technological skills and he is incapable to set authentic relationships with either his surrounding or fellows. It is true that Antonioni translated through abstract images the Marxist theory of alienation in order to explain the sense of frustration and rejection of todays society. Nevertheless, it is too simplistic to say that Antonioni is condemning modernity to have created such an unhuman world where the individual is led to neurosis Antonioni (Brunette 1998) intended to translate the poetry of the world where even factories can be beautiful The complexity of lines, shapes and colours merge into a steampunk dichotomy of functional beauty The sublime beauty of such brutalistic architectures matches what George Orwell wrote in The Road to Wigan Pier (1937): All round was the lunar landscape of slag-heaps [] you could see the factory chimneys sending out their plumes of smoke. The canal path was a mixture of cinders, frozen mud []and pools of stagnant water []It seemed a world from which vegetation had been banished[].   But even Wigan is beautiful [].I do not believe that there is anything inherently and unavoidably ugly about industrialism. A factory or even a gasworks is not obliged of its own nature to be ugly, any more than a palace or a dog-kennel or a cathedral. Of all the contributions Antonioni gave to cinema the most important relies in his ability to correlate character to environment. (Tassone 2002, Antonioni 2007) Antonioni was a long-time student of architecture and all his filmssince his early documentaries of Gente del Po (1947) and Nettezza Urbana (1948) show a keen interest in public and private spaces. (Di Carlo 2002) The social and economic changes of post war Italy led to his attentionthe relation existing between place and individual. Movies like LAvventura would be unconceivable without its images of ordinary Sicilian life. Antonioni shows the complex transformation of modernity through modernist aesthetics and uses the socio political situation of Italy as device to show the self awareness of the film. (Reyner 2013) Explanatory dialogues are minimized and architecture, whether natural or artificial, gains its own narrative autonomy. The use of pre diegetic and post diegetic shots also known as temps mort enhances the simulacral quality of the topographics that through their contemplation reveal their implicit meaning. (Chatman 1978, Lefebvre 2006, Bruno 1997, Reyner 2013) The sublime, merciless and bare beauty of inimical Lisca Bianca. The omnipotence and cosmic indifference of cold and distant industrialized Ravenna. The haptical influence of such places on the plight of the characters resonates with strong expressive analogy. (Cuccu 1973, Antonioni 2007) Dialogue and architecture play as co-metonyms, they not only symbolize modernity but they are crude examples of it. The buildings reflect the characters psyche by association. At the beginning of Lavventura Anna speaks to her dad, she is identified through the noisy new building, and similarly her father is matched with the magnificent dome in the distance. The uncanny battlefield of industrial wastage and the jet of steam and flames act as Giulianas repressed inner force which neurosis synthesized in self destructive attitude. (Bruno 1997) The inhospitable rock of the Aeolian Islands stresses the strangeness of the characters to this environment. The haunting silence of Noto resonates with an existential sense of non-belonging. The Euclidean geometry and surface of modern materials dwarfs our characters. Modernity is reflected by the solid appearance of these facilities. And if the sense of security should be provided by their appearance What security does modernity provide if it only causes unease? A place built by man that rejects man. The space lost its true very own essence to be dwelled. This place has become absurd: stripped out of its functionality there is nothing left but a mere cluster of stones and concrete. The camera movement is perversely spectral and fascinating. The city has become a rational entity. A hostile alien force that seems to reject the characters. A composition that evokes De Chiricos metaphysical period. (Antonioni 1961) Even though De Chiricos paintings suggest that this now inhabited town, once occupied, will be dwelled again, in Lavventura the town seems as it has never been lived. As if a premonition warned the Sicilians to have nothing to do with it. (Costa 2002, Tassone 2002) Finally the epilogue of Lavventura reaches the climax in the evolution of the couple in crisis. The composition is emblematic, split in between a void and a fill. The far sight of a volcano island and an empty wall. The will to forgive and the inability to reason own existence. This frame shows all the uncertainty and suspension upon which the movie ends. Antonioni does not reveal in these places cataclysmic sceneries. He rather makes a commentary on the personal problems that bad building and misused spaces created and are afflicting modern man. The macabre visions of environmental exploitation and building speculation revealed the collapse of safety of our surrounding and have become concrete manifestation of the emotional sickness of our time When Lavventura was published it was said of giallo alla rovescia, or noir in reverse. (Cuccu 1973) While De Sica would have uncovered the drama of these individualsAntonioni instead uses his exceptional dispassionate photography to dedrammatize the events. (Cuccu 1973) This is why it no longer seems to me important to make a film about a man who has had his bicycle stolenit is important to see what there is in the mind and in the heart of this man how he has adapted himself, what remains in him of his past experiences.(Bondanella 1943) This does not mean his movies are not dramatic, but on the counterpart the events do not follow a conventional chain of causalities. The common cinematic technique of resolution suggests that Anna will eventually be found and Giuliana will recover. Antonioni does not offer any solution to act on the present. (Nowell-Smith 1995) Using ellipses the temporality of the events is preserved and their reality enhanced however, the events are not strictly related by a cause-effect succession but rather linked by contingency. As matter of fact we are not given any further information when Giulianas depression started or when Anna decided to leave to never come back again. Each event is no less accidental and casual than the others. As casual as the disappearing of Anna and the complete abandon by Claudia and Sandro that revealed at the end a cold and unforgiving disappearing of a disappearance. We are not given to know what has been of Anna or whether Claudias hand resting on Sandros head in the most delicate of all acceptances means she forgave Sandro or if she was consenting him. We cant be sure about Giuliana either, whether she recovered from her depression or if she adapted to the modern world as explains to Valerio how birds adapted to that poisonous environment. (Chatman 1985) The events we expect to happen never happen. The title shows its ambiguity as it works symbolically and not visually. The Red Desert, the desert of the alienated things, the aridity of the human emotions. The adventure, the journey Anna undertakes swimming overboard, the sentimental adventure of Sandro and Claudia. And even the intentions behind the films are ambiguous: We cant really tell if Lavventura and Il Deserto Rosso are about moral decay or an outcry about the effects of technology on the humans sensitiveness. Whether the inhabited rock of a Sicilian island or the outskirt of an industrialized city, Antonioni was capable to film modernity through the bare appearance of things. (Gilman 1962) Although, it is difficult to tell what Antonionis movies are about, Antonioni himself after a visit to Mark Rothkosaid: Your paintings are like my films-theyre about nothingwith precision. (Gilman 1962) Antonioni was a poet of the form and the meaning of his works comes from the interaction between suggestive architectures and the ambiguity of the human emotions. He depicted a utopian desire to regain a sense of human connection with the environment. His shots offer nothing more and nothing less than the sheer wonder of existence. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READINGS Antonioni, M., 1961. Fare un film per me à ¨ vivere. Scritti sul cinema. Ed. 2009. Venice: Marsilio Editore, 43. Antonioni, M., 1962.A talk with Michelangelo Antonioni. Film Culture, 24 (1962): 51. Antonioni, M., 2007. The Architecture of Vision: Writings and Interview on Cinema. Chicago: University of Chicago Barthes, R., 1994. Caro Antonioni. In: Barthes, R. Ed. 1997. Sul cinema. Genoa: Il Nuovo Melangolo, 172-173. Bondanella, P., 1943. Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present. Ed. 1984. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co, 108. Bortolini, F., 2011. Forme dellesperienza e del linguaggio. Camus, Sartre, Bergman, Antonioni. Milan: Unicopli. Bruno, G., 1997. Site-seeing: architecture and the moving image. Wide Angle, 19 (4), 8-24. Brunette, P., 1998. The films of Michelangelo Antonioni. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 96. Camus, A., 1942. The Stranger. New York: Vintage Books. Chatman, S. 1989. LAvventura. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. Chatman, S., 1985. Antonioni, or the surface of the world. London: University of California Press. Costa, A., 2002. Il cinema e le arti visive. Torino: Einaudi. Crowther, B., 1961. Italian Film Wins Cannes Top Prize. The New York Times [online], 5 April 1961. Avilable from: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9400e0db133de733a25756c0a9629c946091d6cf [Accessed 21 October 2016]. Cuccu, L., 1973. La visione come problema: Forme e svolgimento del cinema di Antonioni. Rome: Bulzoni. Darke, C., 1995. Lavventura. Sight and Sound, 5 (12), 55. Di Carlo, C., 1964. Michelangelo Antonioni. In: Fink, G., ed. 1983. Michelangelo Antonioni, identificazione di un autore: gli anni della formazione e la critica su Antonioni. Parma: Pratiche Editrice, 74-75. Di Carlo, C., 2002. Il cinema di Michelangelo Antonioni. Milan: Il Castoro. Fink, G., 1983. Michelangelo Antonioni, identificazione di un autore: gli anni della formazione e la critica su Antonioni. Parma: Pratiche Editrice, 103. Freud, S., 1977. Inhibitions, Symptoms, and Anxiety. New York: Norton Company. Gente del Po, 1947. [film, DVD]. Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Italy: Artisti Associati ICET. Giannetti, D., 1999. Invito al cinema di Antonioni. Milan: Ugo Mursia Editore. Gilman, R., 1962. On Antonioni. Theatre Arts, 46 (1962), 7. Grenier, C., 1960. Reflections on the Parisian Screen Scene. New York Times, 20 November 1960. Hawkins, R. F., Focus on an Unimpressive Cannes Film Fete. The New York Times, 29 May 1960. Hoberman J., 2006. Seeing and Nothingness: A Must-see Retrospective Celebrates the Works of a Modernist Master. Village Voice [online], 30 May 2006. Available from: http://www.villagevoice.com/film/seeing-and-nothingness-6418576[Accessed 30 October 2016]. Holden, S., 2006. Antonionis Nothingness and beauty. The New York Times [online], 04 June 2006, Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/movies/04hold.html[Accessed 28 October 2016]. Il deserto rosso, 1964. [film, DVD]. Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Italy, France: Film Duemila. Koehler, R., 2015. Great wide open: LAvventura. Sight and Sound [online], 20 April 2015,Available from: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/greatest-films-all-time/great-wide-open-l-avventura[Accessed 3 November 2016]. Lavventura, 1959. [film, DVD].Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Italy, France: Cino del Duca. Lefebvre, M., 2006. Landscape and Film. London: Routledge. Lucantonio, G., 2011. Lavventura > Michelangelo Antonioni. Rapporto Confidenziale [online], 07 January 2011, Available from: http://www.rapportoconfidenziale.org/?p=11578[Accessed 5 November 2016]. Manceaux, M., 1960. An Interview with Antonioni.   Sight and Sound 30 (1) 5-8. Melzer, Z., 2010. Michelangelo Antonioni and the Reality of the Modern. Offscreen. [online], 14 (4). Moravia, A., 1960. Boredom. Milan: Valentino Bompiani Co, 5. N.U -Nettezza urbana, 1948. [film, DVD]. Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Italy: Artisti Associati ICET. Nowell-Smith, G., 1995. Antonioni: Before and After. Sight and Sound, 12 (December 1995) 16-21. OLesser, S., 1964. Lavventura: a closer look.Yale review,54 (1964) 45. Orwell, G., 1937. The Road to Wigan Pier. Ed. 2011. London: Penguin Books. Pasolini, P. P., 1976. The Cinema of Poetry. In: Nichols, B., ed. 1976. Movie and Methods.Vol.1. Berkeley: University of California Press, 542-558. Pomerance, M., 2011. Michelangelo Red Antonioni Blue: Eight Reflections on Cinema. London: University of California Press. Reyner, J., 2013. Film Landscapes : Cinema, Environment and Visual Culture. New Castle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Salinari, C., 1980. Miti E Coscienza del Decadentismo Italiano. Milan: Feltrinelli. Sartre, J. P., 1989. Being and Nothingness: an essay on phenomenological ontology. London: Routledge. Slattery, M., 2003. Key ideas in Sociology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Tassone, A., 2002. I film di Michelangelo Antonioni: un poeta della visione. Ed. 2007. Rome: Gremese Editore. Tinazzi, G., 1994. Michelangelo Antonioni. Edition: 2002. Milan: Il Castoro. Tomasulo, F., 2008. Life is inconclusive: a conversation with Michelangelo Antonioni. In: Cardullo, B., ed. 2008. Michelangelo Antonioni: Interviews. Jackson: university Press of Mississippi, 162-168.

Effect of Intoxication on Generosity | Article Analysis

Effect of Intoxication on Generosity | Article Analysis In their 50th  volume, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published an article named â€Å"Focused On Fairness: Alcohol Intoxication Increases the Costly Rejection of Inequitable Rewards† in which they explored the effects of alcohol regarding an individuals propensity to accept a deal in with there exists unfair rewards. In the first study, participants were recruited from outside of bars in Pittsburg, PA between 9pm and 3am to play a modified ultimatum game with economical rewards. This type of field experiment was chosen in order to both find a pool of subjects that were unfamiliar with psychological studies and experimental economic games, as well as allow for participants to drink to their preferred level of intoxication, which may differ from what they would have been subjected to in a lab setting. Subjects had their BAC tested and then proceeded to be isolated in cubicles where they would complete the experiment. Subjects were led to believe they were playi ng against another live human, but in actuality they were playing against a computer program. Subjects were given 100 cents to play with in each round, deciding how much to offer their partner and how much to keep for themselves, and then would submit their offers to their partner who would either accept or reject the offer and then proceed to begin a new round with the roles having been switched. The computer program that the participants played with would accept any offer >30 cents and refuse any offer The experiment essentially proved that while intoxication may have no effect on generosity or equitability of offers, it did have an effect on a subject’s propensity to reject unfair offers. Higher BAC reflected an increased likelihood of rejecting an unfair proposal, yet it had no bearing on likelihood of proposing or accepting generous and/or fair offers.

Essay --

CAT Question: Do balanced scorecards increase performance in organizations? †¢ Management challenge and research question The research question is when an organization has implemented a balanced scorecard does performance improve within an organization? Many organizations have balanced scorecards that contain metrics that do not necessarily contribute to increased performance. They may also try to measure areas that are not easy or impossible to measure like values or engagement. In addition, organizations may focus more on meeting milestones or deadlines of activities rather than achieving the desired outcomes of the initiative. Another issue is that organizations may focus solely on the measures on the balanced scorecard while ignoring other important operational initiatives. Lastly, balanced scorecards may increase organization performance due to the Hawthorne effect or the observer-expectancy effect that claims individuals will modify their behavior when it is being measured as a response to the fact that they know they are being studied. Studies have also shown that high performance may be reflected through the balanced scorecard, but this is more of a reflection of the manager’s relationship with a certain employee than it is of the outcome of a particular initiative. †¢ Results / evidence summary (including limitations of research found, if any) Study in the Journal of Management Accounting Research (Ittner & Larcker, 1998) surveyed the effectiveness of the balanced scorecard versus performance measurement methods used in the past. The results showed that only 5% of respondents thought the balanced scorecard approach was significantly higher in its effectiveness. In the International Journal of Business Administration, a ... ...mance. There are several factors that play a role in this observation, many of which have to do with the nature of the balanced scorecard model. First, balanced scorecards create an atmosphere where performance is being looked at and often when an individual’s performance is being monitored, they are more susceptible to the observer-expectancy effect that means these individuals try harder. Second, balanced scorecards increase the accountability of managers. These contribute to managers â€Å"walking the talk† so that their staff and others view them â€Å"living’ the balances scorecard. Third, when putting measures, objectives and initiatives on the balanced scorecard this highlights their importance. This in turn brings more attention to achieving the proper outcome and increases performance, but only when the proper objectives, initiatives and measures have been selected.

Stella Ting-Tommeys Toward a Theory of Conflict and Culture Essay

Stella Ting-Tommey's "Toward a Theory of Conflict and Culture" Introduction This research report is based on the article "Toward a Theory of Conflict and Culture" taken from the book Communication, Culture, and Organizational Processes. In this article, Stella Ting-Toomey talks about culture and conflict and its relation to low- and high-context cultures. Summary Ting-Toomey starts the article by addressing conflict. Conflict is part of human nature. It stems from many things. An example of a possible conflict could stem from differences in culture. She lists several other examples of possible conflict. She breaks the article up into three sections to better understand the idea of conflict versus culture. The first section deals with defining culture and conflict. Ting-Toomey defines conflict as "a form of interpersonal or intrapersonal tension between two or more parties based on goals, needs, desires, values, beliefs, and/or attitudes"(Ting-Toomey 72). She defines culture as "a patterned system of symbols and meanings"(Ting-Toomey 72). Conflict is an important par...

The Health Benefits of Bananas

The health benefits of bananas http://ph. she. yahoo. com/health-beneflts-banana-092724299. html Bananas are one of the most famous common fruits amongst people of every age. Enjoyed in its various forms, bananas are eaten raw, accompanied with desserts, added In smoothies and consumed In many more ways too. Let us look at the benefits of eating this fruit. 1. It helps regulate blood pressure. Banana Is a fruit that contains high amount of potassium and low levels of salt. This combination helps to regulate the blood pressure. It reduces the risk of heart related diseases. 2. It strengthens your bones.The potassium content In bananas Is good for the health of your bones. Eating bananas on a regular basis can prevent your bones from deteriorating. Consuming bananas can also neutralize the amount of sodium In your body, which ultimately saves calcium to get washed out from your body. 3. It's energizing. Bananas are loaded with a lot of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C and Vitamin 8 -6. Considering this fact, it is evident that eating the fruit can provide you with great energy. Pack yourself a couple of bananas to eat in the afternoon after your lunch as been digested and your stomach asks for some food. . It boosts bowel health. If you are suffering from constipation, banana is the fruit you need to pick. The fruit contains dietary fiber that aids the maintenance of the bowel system of your body. 5. It reduces stress. When you are in stress, the metabolic rate of your body shoots up and potassium levels consequently decrease. Eating a banana can thereby flush your body with potassium, which will automatically ease you and regularize your heartbeat. 6. It's brain food. The potassium in bananas also does wonders by making you more mentally alert.Research shows that this yellow fruit aids concentration and hence is a marvelous fuel for the brain. 7. It's rich in iron. People suffering from iron deficiency can resort to eating bananas. This fruit, which is rich i n iron, can supply your body with the amount of iron it needs. This can also benefit you when you are suffering from an injury and require the blood to clot faster with the help of hemoglobin. It is unimaginable how one tiny yellow colored fruit can give your body numerous health benefits. Include bananas In your breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner and enjoy the phenomenal benefits It Imparts your body with.The Health Benefits of Bananas By emapiag162 http://ph. she. yahoo. com/health-benefits-banana-092724299. html added in smoothies and consumed in many more ways too. Let us look at the benefits Banana is a fruit that contains high amount of potassium and low levels of salt. This The potassium content in bananas is good for the health of your bones. Eating bananas can also neutralize the amount of sodium in your body, which ultimately give your body numerous health benefits. Include bananas in your breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner and enjoy the phenomenal benefits it imparts your b ody with.

Eid vs Christmas Essay

In the building with the blue windows and the diamond shaped roof tops, children dressed in red and green with rosy cheeks, were gaily singing: â€Å"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in a one more hoppin’ slay! Hey! †¦ Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! † In the building across the street, with the pink windows and the mosque behind it, families were visiting each other in their newly bought clothes and shining shoes, wishing each other: Eid Mubarak, Dear Brother, Dear Sister May Allah’s blessings be bestowed upon you and your family! † The year 2008 is host to Christmas and Eid al Adha during the same month, only a few days apart. One would notice that decorations and celebrations favour one of the Religious Holidays over the other. Why have we chosen to commercialise Christmas and not the Islamic event of Eid? How is it that worldwide Christmas is rejoiced at an extreme point of merriment, whereas Eid al Ad ha is commemorated only within its Islamic communities? The historical references of the birth of Christ (As) and the sacrifice of Ibrahim(As) and his son are known within both religions and are testimonies of social gatherings. Actually, in our Islamic religion we learn that Ibrahim (As) would sacrifice his son Ismael (As) in Makah, while among the Christians, they believe that Ibrahim (As) would sacrifice his son Isaac (As), not Ismael (As), in Palestine. Artists painted the scenes, poets rhymed the stories, authors researched the history, all in tribute to the religious aspect of the culture of their upbringings. So, why is Christmas the prize of the globalization of the market, and not Eid al Adha? Why is Christmas more widely accepted as a commercial Holiday and not Eid? Throughout history, religion has been a battleground for the survival of cultures and traditions. Territory was fought for based on religion, international communications broke down because of different convictions. Yet, the holidays seem to unite even people who are the farthest apart. Thanksgiving, Easter, Ramadan, Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha and Christmas are celebrations that should be known worldwide; and for the most part they are. In the United States and Canada they honour Thanksgiving, also most westren countries have Easter and Christmas holidays; the Orient celebrate with some of these holidays. However, come Ramadan or Eid, and only the immediate Islamic based countries, like the Middle East and the South-Asian countries, know the details of the holiday. Abu Dhabi is an example of a multi-tradition and multi-cultural city. Every year, Ramadan is noticed and felt all over the city, even its peripheries. Usually, both Eids are just as important as Ramadan is. Nonetheless, this year, because Christmas and Eid al Adha are so close to each other, the shopping malls, hotels and other retail outlets are decorated with the spirit of Christmas and not the joy of Eid al Adha. The controversy is that this is an Islamic country, yet the atmosphere feels very occidental. There are Islamic countries that allow a one-day or two-day holiday scheme for Christmas, whereas Western countries don’t instigate the notion of respecting the religion of others in their society. This demonstrates the respect Islamic based governments have towards their inhabitants, what does it say about the Occident? The Islamic goverments does no justice to the foundation of its roots. It is quite disappointing when the nation’s leaders are not intervening and stating that Eid is as important as Christmas; maybe even more so! This is a country whose laws and government regulations are born from the Quran itself. True, Jesus’ (As) birth is a belief amongst Muslims, but so is the sacrificial symbol of the Adha a belief amongst the Christians and other religions in the world. Why can’t all cultures adopt the Islamic tradition of gifting children with new clothes and taking them out to restaurants and amusement parks? The government does not encourage Eid as much as it allows public places to be enveloped in Christmas decorations. In France, the Arab communities hold visitations and share in Islamic customs within their brotherhood, whilst around them Christmas carols are sung and the city is embellished in tinsel and goblins, awaiting the arrival of â€Å"Santa Claus†, or in their terms â€Å"Pere Noel. In Dubai, much like Abu Dhabi, hotels and restaurants have special Christmas luncheons. Shops and Malls give away special offers during the ‘Festive Season’. There is yet to be established an Eid theme blanketing the cities where Islam is the religion of base, like that of Christmas. What is even more upsetting is that Christmas is in itself less religious and more commercial than it was 500 years ago. Christmas has a face, a fi gure one can imagine when thinking of the Holiday: a jolly man, with a red suit and a white beard. He did not always look like this. â€Å"Santa Claus† acquired his red suit and the big belly through a Coca Cola advertisement in 1931. His image changed, distorted almost, into what we know now as â€Å"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! † by many cartoonists. â€Å"Through the centuries, Santa Claus has been depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to an elf. He has worn a bishop’s robe and a Norse huntsman’s animal skin. The modern-day Santa Claus is a combination of a number of the stories from a variety of countries†*. (Coca-cola. om) Children stop believing in him at a very early age, whereas before, they would reach the age of maturity and only then learn that â€Å"Santa Claus† is a spirit of St. Nicholas. Eid al Adha, was, is and always will be the same. The story never changes. The facts are facts, not subject to individual interpretation. Families pass on the same heritage that remains untouched, untainted, unpenetrated by social ref orm. In conclusion, I strongly believe that the injustice the Islamic governors does, the discrimination between religions should be educated to a halt. Eid al Adha is my upbringing. Within my family, an uncle has a Christian wife, their house is always decorated with Christmas twinkles during the season; this year, they waited with the decorations until after Eid al Adha. As a Muslim in an Islamic society, I have been brought up to respect all religions and beliefs by our Islamic governments; so why now can’t the Islamic governments respect their religion that they take oath to respect, protect, and maintain it?

Cold War Literature – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Waiting for Godot, and Red Alert

The period of Cold War literature dating from the second half of the twentieth century is distinctly seen as a time of enduring relevance; marked with a deep moral questioning of morality and the institution, a heightened sense of paranoia, as well as with a firm shattering of religious persuasion. Significant texts arise from particular ways of thinking to reflect both a societal loss of innocence and social naivety, presenting a widely pessimistic picture of a civilisation awaiting imminent annihilation. A strong reaction to the context of After the Bomb, which created a sense of fragmentation and social alienation, the Cold War texts of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, and Peter Georges’ Red Alert all arise from particular ways of thinking evident in the philosophical, religious, economic and technological paradigms of the period and thus they possess an enduring relevance.Could Cold War Have Been Avoided? The questions surrounding both the reasoning and necessity of the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki arguably surround the most significant moral debate of the twentieth century and it is in this context, that George’s Red Alert and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by Le Carre, explore the philosophical reasonings of morality. The Spy who came in From the Cold raises such concerns as it shatters illusions of the previously perceived ‘noble cause'. This is evidenced as Control briefs Leamus when he rationalises that â€Å"the ethic of our work†¦ we do disagreeable things†¦ we are defensive†. This not only causes the reader to question the â€Å"ethic† of intelligence operations but also to compare the actions of both the East and the West throughout the novel. Additionally the emphasis of the italicised â€Å"defensive† highlights the belief that such operations cause concern, as the manipulation and deception of others by the Circus causes the readers to weigh up the â€Å"ethics†. This is highlighted especially as it becomes apparent that the British are instigating the protection of a former Nazi, another scenario raising concerns of morality. Control then says that â€Å"intelligence work has one moral law – it is justified by results†. Control, as suggested by his title, hold considerable power which The use of â€Å"law† suggests a concrete framework of standards and expectations, which is not only unrealistic within an intelligence setting, but also a complete untruth, Control having just said that they are â€Å"defensive†. Additionally the issue of amorality surfaces within the conversation between Control and Leamus as the reader questions whether the â€Å"results† justify the means. Likewise, when Fielder interrogates Leamus there is a discussion about philosophical and ideological beliefs of British and East German intelligence agents. Fielder believes in that â€Å"the whole is more important than the individual†. This statement, explicit and direct, emphasises options of morality for both. Similarly, perhaps as a justification, it is also said that â€Å"it is expedient that one man should die for the benefit of many†. Apart from a criticising intelligence work, Le Carre also questions both the direction and morality/amorality of humanity itself. Through the use of â€Å"benefit†, the reader is forced to ask if any death is a â€Å"benefit† to society, allowing contextual components to come into play. Similarly, George’s Red Alert as a text is characterised by intensified questioning of humanity and human values. The sustained metaphor likening General Quinten to the mongoose who kills the snake from Rudyard Kipling’s Rikki Tikki Tavi spans most of the novel. The juxtaposition of Rikki Tikki Tavi with General Quinten highlights the debate surrounding â€Å"aggression for self-defence†, which juxtaposes both scenarios in irony. Another philosophical facet of Red Alert is the validity and morality of the institution. This is a particularly potent issue shown through the rare satirical undercurrent of the Pentagon War Room. Satire is used by George throughout the meetings of â€Å"big bomb diplomacy† as leaders from East and West throw around moral questions of whether there is a difference in killing â€Å"thirty millions or sixty millions†. This, in addition to the granting of permission to destroy an un-evacuated Atlantic city so that â€Å"few would have to suffer for the sake of many† highlights contempt for political institutions making decisions for the world, who through the use of alliteration are â€Å"powerless to prevent†. This also relates to Fiedler’s belief in that it is â€Å"expedient that one man should die for the benefit of many†. Thus through the questioning of morality in Cold War society, both Le Carre and George, present texts which both depict highly differing perspectives of their surrounding world and which are, to a large extent shaped by the particular ways of thinking present at the time. Thus both texts possess an enduring relevance through the challenging of ideas such as morality and the presence of seeming amorality. The Cold War era was one of permeating anxiety, vulnerability and fear especially pertaining to the fatal flaws of science, as well as to those attributed to the human condition as conveyed in Peter George’s Red Alert and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Winston Churchill’s 1946 Sinews of Peace alleged that â€Å"with cooperation†¦in science†¦there will be an overwhelming sense of security†[1]. Red Alert is a text, seemingly devoted to the disproving of this affirmation. The novel invalidates the â€Å"safety† of the machine, particularly through the ironic repetition of the acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD. Similarly, the religious imagery of explosives â€Å"crossed and recrossed in a lethal pattern† is both symbolic of the danger and fatality of nuclear technology, and foreboding of the â€Å"self-immolation [of] their destined end† – a reference to the perceived martyrdom of the appropriately named Alabama Angel bombers. In 1961, John F Kennedy stated â€Å"the world is living under a nuclear sword of Damocles which can be cut by accident, miscalculation, or madness. †[2] It seems the fatal flaw of technology, as conveyed in Red Alert, is human nature. This is particularly evident as â€Å"no system yet devised is proof against any and all human failings†¦the human element has failed us† which again plays on the threat of technology as well as alludes to the existing atmosphere of paranoia prevalent throughout both the novel, and the Cold War period. Similarly, in Waiting for Godot â€Å"Beckett is concerned with†¦demythification, with exposing myths such as†¦science†[3]. Through absurdism, Beckett conveys the â€Å"dark summation† of the human condition with compassion and humour. The seeming nothingness of the existence and experience of all characters in the play can be distressing for the audience, who are presented with a disillusioned, harsh depiction of their world. This is somewhat symbolic of the realities of the human condition in relation to despair, fear and loneliness in an alien and hostile universe. Additionally, the relentless cycle experienced as Vladimir says â€Å"we’ll be back tomorrow†¦ then the day after†¦and so on† creates both pity but also fear for the audience especiallyu as Estragon asks â€Å"why don’t you help me? , thus appealing to Vladimir but also the audience who are both powerless to offer help and protection. It is thus evidenced in both Waiting for Godot and Red Alert, that the fear and paranoia depicted in both texts is to a large extent a reflection of the ways of thinking of the time. The impact of the political context of the Cold War in clearly evident in Le Carre’s The Spy Who Cam e in from the Cold, however, in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, although still existent, the political influence and ways of thinking is somewhat more subtle. The Cold War era is often characterised by deceit, manipulation and betrayal, thus challenging values of honour and loyalty as society learnt of defections and double agents. The idea of manipulation, perhaps an illusion to political manipulation, is conveyed strongly in The Spy who came in from the Cold particularly through the use of repeating images of children, which appear throughout the text as symbols of innocence, easily swayed by others. The manipulation of Liz in the courtroom â€Å"like a blind child† conveys the potential control over interpretation through the suppression of context. The simile not only likens Liz to the ideas of innocence and naivety but also raises the question of whether there can be truth without context. Similarly, the novel sustains repetition of an image haunting Leamus; that of a â€Å"small car smashed between great lorries and the children waving cheerfully through the window†. The obvious conclusion drawn by readers is of the lorries as a metaphor for the ideological conflict between East and West, communism and democracy. The small car on the other hand has numerous connotations potentially being Leamus, society in general as a helpless unit, or even the opposing nations caught in between the ideological forces. The â€Å"children waving cheerfully† presents an image of innocence, and lack of awareness, a stark contrast to the looming lorries. Thus, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold reflects, to a very large extent the political atmosphere of the Cold War, and thus possesses enduring relevance as a depiction of reality for many throughout the era. Thus, the particular ways of thinking present throughout the Cold War period largely influenced the composition of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Waiting for Godot, and Red Alert. The permeating philosophical, scientific, political and religious paradigms give all three texts an enduring relevance in the modern, twenty-first century context.

Economic Crisis in Europe

How does Economic Crisis Affect European Union and how Does EU Reacts Introduction to the European Union and the Economic Crisis It is a fact world wide that we are facing an economic crisis. There are many Countries inside European Union that can hardly respond to the values of the crisis. The whole commission has to Decide and act properly for all those countries that can hardly respond to the crisis. The depth and breath of the current global financial crisis is unprecedented in post-war economic history.It has several features in common with similar financial-stress driven crisis episodes. It was preceded by relatively long period of rapid credit growth, low risk premiums, abundant availability of liquidity, strong leveraging, soaring asset prices and the development of bubbles in the real estate sector. Stretched leveraged positions and maturity mismatches rendered financial institutions very vulnerable to corrections in asset markets, deteriorating loan performance and disturba nces in the wholesale funding markets.Such episodes have happened before and the examples are abundant (e. g. Japan and the Nordic countries in the early 1990s, the Asian crisis in the late-1990s). But the key difference between these earlier episodes and the current crisis is its global dimension. ( http://ec. europa. eu/economy_finance/publications/publication15887 ) THE CRISIS FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE A perfect storm. This is one metaphor used to describe the present global crisis. No other economic downturn after World War II has been as severe as today's recession.Although a large number of crises have occurred in recent decades around the globe, almost all of them have remained national or regional events – without a global impact. So this time is different – the crisis of today has no recent match. To find a downturn of similar depth and extent, the record of the 1930s has to be evoked. Actually, a new interest in the depression of the 1930s, commonly class ified as the Great Depression, has emerged as a result of today's crisis. By now, it is commonly used as a benchmark for assessing the current global downturn. The purpose of this hapter is to give a historical perspective to the present crisis. In the first section, the similarities and differences between the 1930s depression and the present crisis concerning the geographical origins, causes, duration and impact of the two crises are outlined. As both depressions were global, the transmission mechanism and the channels propagating the crisis across countries are analyzed. Next, the similarities and differences in the policy responses then and now are mapped. Finally, a set of policy lessons for today are extracted from the past.A word a warning should be issued before making comparisons across time. Although the statistical data from previous epochs are far from complete, historical national accounts research and the statistics compiled by the League of Nations offer comprehensive evidence for this chapter. Of course, any historical comparisons should be treated with caution. There are fundamental differences with earlier epochs concerning the structure of the economy, degree of globalization, nature of financial innovation, state of technology, institutions, economic thinking and policies.Paying due attention to them is important when drawing lessons. (http://ec. europa. eu/economy_finance/publications/publication15887 ) Responses to Crisis In a single market and a huge trading bloc like the EU, coordination of national economic policies is important. Through such coordination, the EU can act with speed and consistency when faced with economic challenges, as the current economic and financial crisis. Sixteen countries have even one step further by adopting the euro currency.The framework for cooperation in economic policy is Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), whose members are all EU countries is a framework within which countries agree common guidelines on important issues of the economy. The final result of the cooperation is more growth, more jobs and higher level of social protection for all. Moreover, this cooperation allows the EU to respond to global economic and financial challenges in a coordinated way. The EU as a major trading power, is more resilient to external shocks and, thus, can effectively address the various economic and financial problems.The EU has faced in a coordinated way the current financial and economic crisis, from the first moment occurred in October 2008. National governments, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Commission work together to protect their savings to maintain the flow of credit at affordable terms for businesses and households, and to establish a better system of global management of the financial sector. The aim is not simply the restoration of stability but to ensure that the conditions to re-launch growth and job creation.So far, EU governments have placed more than 2 trillion for the rescue effort of their economies. European leaders have coordinated their interventions, providing support and allowing banks to grant loan guarantees. The EU also increased state guarantees for private savings accounts to 50,000 euros. The use of the euro as common currency in many European countries worked very positively during the crisis. Helped the EU to react to the global credit crisis in a coordinated manner and provide greater stability than would happen without it.For example, as the ECB could cut interest rates throughout the euro area (instead of each country sets its own exchange rate), banks across the EU can now borrow or lend to each other under the same conditions . The euro is used daily by more than 60% of EU citizens Having a single currency was a win-win for abolished the cost of converting currencies at leisure or business trips within the eurozone, abolished or significantly decreased in almost all Where the cost of cross-border payments; consumers and busine sses can easily compare prices, thus fostering competition.Participation in the euro zone is a guarantee of price stability. The ECB sets the key interest rates at levels designed to keep medium-term inflation in the euro area below 2%. It also manages the foreign reserves of the EU to intervene in currency markets to influence the euro exchange rate. (http://europa. eu/pol/financ/index_el. htm ) Europe, mistakes and the economic crisis The crisis was born on August 9, 2007, when the European Central Bank (ECB) introduced 95 billion liquidity to markets, while the BNP Raribas freeze three investment funds because of subprime had value.The injections are slightly stimulated the patient and the ECB has gained credibility. Apart from the monetary policy should, however, warned governments to take steps to eradicate the evil and to prevent the liquidity crisis be turned into a solvency crisis. Then the ECB was slow to cut interest rates. When in March the European Parliament held a deba te devoted to these issues in preparation for the European Council in April, the former Irish Finance Minister Charlie Mc.Creevy had preferred to keep racing †¦ Also the perception of Manuel Barroso's role is questionable. Rather than enshrine it in the spirit of community spirit, arrested him as a dead leaf which is led and borne by the wishes of the Council: the Commission should propose only what Member States want. The organization of the Commission creates a blind spot in understanding this crisis. The macroeconomic and related issues with the markets depend on two different committees.In the European Parliament in October 2006 calling on the Commission â€Å"to pay more attention to the effects of market behavior on the macroeconomic situation in the euro area. Because there had to break the morale of the household, mobile motorized development, and because it was easier not to go ahead, the governments leave the ECB to intervene alone. Adopt them journey to the lessons of the crisis are not dealt with the pollution of subprime, the address of which is limited to calls for transparency from banks.But this is contrary to the rules of the market because it requires â€Å"players† to risk their reputation. Transparency could be only by on-site inspections, for which nobody had the means. In the spring the International Monetary Fund released figures decline in growth in Europe while car sales fell in Germany. In the holy alliance of the European executive and the ECB decided that the data were under American influence and too pessimistic. By optimizing the expectations we had in denial of reality.After a serious error assessment of the Bush administration ran away evil and rotten egg of subprime cut the mayonnaise in the world economy have serious economic and social consequences. The decision to leave at the Lehman collapse Vrothers on September 15 caused a systemic crisis marking the death certificate of the Reagan-Thatcher era. In Europe-in this new phase of the crisis-the first reflex was to rescue the Irish, which has decided to guarantee all deposits of banks. Angela Merkel initially denied any plan to support the European banking sector.After Nicolas Sarkozy left alone against the German refusal, Gordon Brown presented his own plan and moved to the Eurogroup. As a former Finance Minister of the main economic spot of Europe, he knew very well what he was talking and was able to combine the political imperative for action control mechanisms. Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made Jean-Claude Trichet in the class of head of state or government, seemed to be trying to play a kind of changing the State Monopoly French capitalism, industry and the media depending on the mood.This was perhaps another reason why the banks refused the first version of the plan and forced the state to offer loans without taking any involvement. We thus present a massive plan to support banks without exchange intervention to long-term strategy. There is also a risk that the pressure for reforms to evaporate with a new relative stabilization of markets and argued that any significant change endangers the fragile economies. Finally, the European response to banking crisis will be in parallel with national plans.An ambitious Commission will undertake to lead the implementation of these projects to be used in a European strategy. Europe can provide the best, the ability of the default rules, is the soft power of the modern era that is so necessary by globalization. For this reason the Commission should rediscover the nature and take-back initiatives is one of the great challenges of the next European schedule. (http://www. tovima. gr/default. asp? pid=2&ct=6&artid=23784&dt=18/11/2008 ) Economic crisis leading to â€Å"relaxation† of EU rules on deficitsThe ‘relaxation' of the rules on deficits under the Stability Pact (up to 3% of GDP) in fact go the European governments, as the financial crisis requires more government spending to avoid recession. Although the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said at the meeting of four European leaders in Paris on Saturday that â€Å"the Stability Pact should be respected† in its entirety, is a common belief within the EU that will be tolerated a-temporary-breaching the 3% of GDP as the primary objective in this very difficult international situation is the stability of the system.Officially, most EU leaders insist on fiscal discipline is, but everyone knows that without government intervention the situation will deteriorate and European economies will slip into recession. The ‘culture' that prevails in Europe, captured the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, saying that â€Å"the implementation of the Pact should reflect the exceptional circumstances where we are. † The â€Å"exceptional circumstances†, according to international organizations, the most serious economic crisis of the Great Depression of the 1930s.This issue wil l be addressed by the European finance ministers Monday (Eurogroup) and Tuesday (Ecofin) in Luxembourg. The ministers will discuss the crisis and will refer to measures taken in their countries to reduce the impact of the credit â€Å"suffocation†. The EU prefers assistance â€Å"in case† and, for the moment at least, does not discuss the possibility of a common reserve fund (suggested and took back then N. Sarkozy) to rescue the banking and general corporate financial industry tested by the crisis.