Dicussion of the Purpose of Shakespeares Sonnet 18

Shakespeares collection of sonnets is heralded as one of the greatest, most ambitious sonnet collections in English literature. Of these154 sonnets, the first 126 of them are addressed to a fair youth, a beatiful young man, with whom Shakespeare has developed an intimate friendship. The overarching theme of devotion in antimony to mortality denotes that â€Å"Sonnet 18† is predominantly a love poem. Accordingly the purpose of the poem seems initially to be to compare his beloved friends handsomness with a common symbol of beauty, a fine summers day. However, Shakespeare actually provides a pragmatic critique of the conventions of love poetry in his doing so. He not only exposes the flaws of the love poetry through the comparison but†¦show more content†¦This inversion of custom has led to much speculation of Shakespeares sexual orientation. The intimate, seemingly sexually-charged feelings sometimes expressed by the poet has prompted some critics to conclude that th ese poems were initiated out of Shakespeares homosexual or homoerotic attachment (Mukherjee line 12) to the young man. However, â€Å"considered in light of the Renaissance vogue of friendship—which could be of an intense emotional or mental relationship—it is generally agreed that the sonnets originated from the love for a (companion), a love which is platonic† (Mukherjee line 13). Ergo, the girlfriend has been replaced by the friend. Nonetheless, Shakespeare feels that this metaphor cannot do justice to the radiance of his subject. As mentioned, the first quatrains punchline: â€Å"And Summers lease hath all too short a date† describes how the ephemeral summer is too short which alludes to the idea that time takes its toll on a beautiful youths allure. Here Shakespeares diction is very apt. He employs the word â€Å"lease† to describe how the summer is short-lived; in modern English it can be understood as it is rented, temporary, the lease is soon up. Accordingly, Shakespeare wishes the summer would last longer and feels despair as he considers the notion that as the summer glow receeds, so the youths beauty too must fade. Thus Shakspeare tasks himself to

Identification And Password Security Measures - 946 Words

Historically, measures to safeguard critical information, locations, and/or equipment have largely relied on the use of access cards and user name and password combinations. These methods widely recognized as verifying an individual based on something that they know (password or pin) and something that they have (I.D. card) have proven to be vulnerable for both users and organizations. As technology and the dependence on cyber and cloud based systems to conduct daily operations has steadily grown over the years, so has the need for better security measures. So far it looks as though the answer, which most companies and organizations are adapting, is a system based on recognition of human characteristics known as biometrics. While implicitly more secure than traditional I.D. card and password security measures, concerns have been raised as to if these systems are detrimental to personal privacy. Webster’s online dictionary (2015), defines biometrics as the â€Å"measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioral characteristics such as fingerprint or voice patterns especially as a means of verifying personal identity†. With the creation of devices to measure human characteristics, known as biometric devices, hardware and software can authenticate a person’s identity by verifying characteristics unique to an individual. Through measuring and/or analyzing physical or behavioral identifiers, devices can deny or grant access to programs, devices, computers, rooms, and otherShow MoreRelatedHci / 510 Systems Life Cycle920 Words   |  4 Pages TaSharon L. Collins HCI/510 Systems Life Cycle September 22, 2014 Professor Eric Everard  Data security is used to prevent anything that is unauthorized, and it helps to protect all of the data from any corruption. 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A Fishbowl Called Franklin free essay sample

Growing up as a student in the Franklin area was like growing up as a fish in a small bowl. I was never really exposed to too many problems of the world. Nothing beyond some divorcing parents or a seventh grade relationship ending was in my mind. When one of my best friends committed suicide though, my whole perception of the perfect world we lived in was completely altered. Sixteenth birthdays are one of the most awaited days in a teenager’s life. So when my best friend xxx called me on his birthday that afternoon, I couldn’t wait to wish him a happy birthday. After I had answered the phone and gotten about halfway through the birthday song, I was interrupted by his heavy breathing and muffled words. I couldn’t understand a word that he was saying except that it had to do with one of our friends, yyy. We will write a custom essay sample on A Fishbowl Called Franklin or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My mind raced as I thought of all the possibilities; I was desperately hoping that my thoughts that xxx and yyy were just having fun would trump the words that I was now hearing from Michael’s mother. After I realized what her words truly meant, I threw my phone across the car and started sobbing. The words, â€Å"yyy killed himself† were on repeat in my head for the next few hours. Although suicide is one of the leading causes of death in teenagers, it had never even crossed my mind before Shep. Dealing with the loss of such a good friend changed me in a way that I never knew was possible. It opened my eyes to seeing the reality of real problems in the world. It challenged my views of the perfect world we lived in and made me realize how much pain someone can be in without anyone ever knowing. One of the most important things that the loss of Shep taught me though was to appreciate my incredible friends and family with every ounce of energy that I have. My friends and I thought that we would never be able to look at pictures of Shep without bursting into tears again. We figured the pain would never subside and the memories, though happy, would be clouded by the sadness that we could never get them back. What I have learned is that you must use the friends and family you have as your stronghold in times of trouble. When I was crying in the bathroom floor at sch ool, my friends were there to literally pick me up off of the ground. We became each other’s rocks. The death of Shep forced me to understand the deeper meaning of friendship taught me how to cope with some of life’s biggest issues. Saying that the suicide of my best friend bettered my life would be stretching it. It was one of the worst times of my life, and to this day I still struggle with the loss. The lessons that I have learned however will stay with me as I continue to grow as a person. From my perception of reality changing, to my understanding of how helpful strong relationships with close friends can be, my perspective on life will never be the same.

The Pharaoh Who Was Called Akh Essays - Amarna Period, Akhenaten

The Pharaoh Who Was Called Akh The Pharaoh Who Was Called Akhenaten By Bob Disherman A research paper submitted to Mr. Touma in partial fulfillment of the requirements for World Cultures Charlotte Country Day School Charlotte, North Carolina November 20, 2000 Akhenaten will always be remembered as a great heretic ruler, who uprooted traditional Egyptian religions, and conjured a monotheistic religion that is very close in nature to Christianity and Judaism. His political power was not his strong point, but with the creation of the religion, and the vast change in art forms, Akhenaten will never be forgotten. Amenhotep IV, the name Akhenaten was born with, was the son of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Amenhotep III's second wife Tiye (Vansten 6). Amenhotep III was the great-grandson of the famous conquer Thutmose III (Editora, ?Part I? 1), who had gained enormous amounts of land and respect from North Africa and the Middle East, and because he was, the glory that his great-grandfather produced, was laid onto him (Redford 34). Therefore, his role in Egypt was somewhat diminished because he accomplished no great victories or wars, but he did command the power of the people, and made them believe that he was the Sun King (Redford 34). However, one of his most significant ideas was the introduction of co-regency, (Aldred 178) which forever changed the way that Pharaohs would rule. Amenhotep III first marriage was slightly uncommon in traditional beliefs. Normally, a pharaoh would not be allowed to marry a commoner, but that is exactly what Amenhotep III did, he married Tiye (Editora, ?Part 1? 1), a girl from the Middle Egypt whose father was a foreigner named Yuya (Redford 36). Tiye was ?the Great King's Wife until one of their daughters, Sat-amun, was elevated higher then she was (Redford 36). During this marriage, Amenhotep III and Tiye produced two boys and six girls (Redford 36). Amenhotep IV was the second of the boys, and was born c. 1385 BC (Redford 36) Aminadab, the Hebrew equal to Amenhotep, lived and was educated in the eastern delta region, where Egyptian priests of Ra taught him about Amun, and the other important deities such as Aten (Vansten 6). After he was educated in the eastern delta region, he went to live in Thebes for his teenage years (Redford 24-25). Not much is known about his teenage or adolescent years, but many scholars believe that during his stay in Thebes, he became involved with a Ra cult, that worshiped the god Amun. Many believe this is where Amenhotep IV began to believe in the iconology such as the sun disk (Redford 170). During this time frame, circa 1368 BC, Amenhotep III became seriously ill, and could not continue governing Egypt without help (Vansten 6). Therefor, Amenhotep IV, who was the only male still in the direct hereditary line, sense his older brother was dead, was pronounced to marry Nefertiti, who was the daughter of Ay and Tey (Redford 222). Nefertiti was a niece of Tiye and Ay was a close friend of Amenhotep III, so it would easily come that Nefertiti and Amenhotep IV should rule as a co-regent until the death of Amenhotep III, so that the ?power could be buttressed? (Aldred 170). There is some speculation during the co-regency, as to whether Nefertiti held a higher position then Amenhotep IV, but it is known that when Amenhotep III died, Amenhotep IV took over as Pharaoh, with Nefertiti being his chief queen (Aldred 178). After taking control of the throne in 1346, Amenhotep IV transferred the city of rule from Thebes to a new city called Armana (Akhen-taten)(Giuliano 2). Supposedly, Armana was the only spot in Egypt where the ?old? religion had not tainted it (Hawkins ?Who 1), and where the natural surroundings outlined the city with a sun-disk-like design (Aldred 269). It took him a record four years to bring the entire capital cabinet, statues, and citizen population from the old city to the new (Ross 3). Once Amenhotep IV had settled into his new city, he changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, in recognition of the sun god Aten in 1344 BC (Hawkins Akhenaten's Life 2). Thus began the deconstruction period for ancient Egyptian polytheistic religions. After Akhenaten renounced

Free Essays on Different Views, Different Responses

Different Views, Different Responses A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Mohandas Gandhi The Dalai Lama feels sadness caused by the things that are brought onto his people. He sees that his people have been neglected, they were being starved to death. â€Å"I was losing control of my own people†¦they were being driven into barbarism†¦growing more determined to resort to violence†¦I opposed the people’s violent instincts† (108). â€Å"I could not help my people anymore; I could not control their wish to resort to violence; all my peaceful efforts so far had been failures† (118). After more and more people leave to fight with the guerillas, the Chinese were angry and complained a lot. â€Å"I was unhappy too at this turn of events† (130). â€Å"I must admit I was very near despair† (133). This was said after he had sent a mission to the guerillas and they never came back, they joined. The majority of the guerillas would not return to their homes. The people of Tibet surrounded the Norbulingka and he knew that the Chinese would fight with artillery and the Tibetans had simple weapons. The Dalai Lama was very upset when he learned that his people threw stones at a minister and an official was stoned to death because they thought he was Chinese. â€Å"This outbreak of violence gave me great distress† (143). â€Å"I felt as if I were standing between two volcanoes, each likely to erupt at any moment† (143). When his people say that they were not leaving the Palace, he knew if was going to be disastrous. â€Å"This development distressed me very much. I felt it was one step more toward disaster† (151). When speaking of his country he said, â€Å"I saw it in a daze of sickness and weariness and unhappiness deeper than I can express† (178). Dalai Lama keeps an optimistic view on everything and tries to maintain hope for his people an... Free Essays on Different Views, Different Responses Free Essays on Different Views, Different Responses Different Views, Different Responses A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Mohandas Gandhi The Dalai Lama feels sadness caused by the things that are brought onto his people. He sees that his people have been neglected, they were being starved to death. â€Å"I was losing control of my own people†¦they were being driven into barbarism†¦growing more determined to resort to violence†¦I opposed the people’s violent instincts† (108). â€Å"I could not help my people anymore; I could not control their wish to resort to violence; all my peaceful efforts so far had been failures† (118). After more and more people leave to fight with the guerillas, the Chinese were angry and complained a lot. â€Å"I was unhappy too at this turn of events† (130). â€Å"I must admit I was very near despair† (133). This was said after he had sent a mission to the guerillas and they never came back, they joined. The majority of the guerillas would not return to their homes. The people of Tibet surrounded the Norbulingka and he knew that the Chinese would fight with artillery and the Tibetans had simple weapons. The Dalai Lama was very upset when he learned that his people threw stones at a minister and an official was stoned to death because they thought he was Chinese. â€Å"This outbreak of violence gave me great distress† (143). â€Å"I felt as if I were standing between two volcanoes, each likely to erupt at any moment† (143). When his people say that they were not leaving the Palace, he knew if was going to be disastrous. â€Å"This development distressed me very much. I felt it was one step more toward disaster† (151). When speaking of his country he said, â€Å"I saw it in a daze of sickness and weariness and unhappiness deeper than I can express† (178). Dalai Lama keeps an optimistic view on everything and tries to maintain hope for his people an...

Immigration to Americas essays

Immigration to Americas essays Prior to 1650, many Englishmen immigrated to the New World, specifically to the North American Colonies. These immigrants fled from a society that they found to be displeasing in many specific ways. Although economic and political values led to much of the English migration to the New World, religious tumult in England was undoubtedly the main cause for the immigration. James I, who believed in the divine right of kings, thought he was allowed to disobey Parliament because he answered to no one but God. He started a conflict with Parliament that gained momentum under Charles I's reign. This conflict finally sparked a civil war lasting seven years, during which time the government unsympathetically persecuted its citizens, driving many of them out of the country. Furthermore, England's unstable economy and inflation led to much poverty. The demand for a certain raw material like wool could put many slaves out of a job if the landowner suddenly decided it was more profitable to raise sheep; thus requiring only a small fraction of the work force. Inflation also made life hard for the poorer people, who found they could no longer pay for basic necessities. People saw that moving to the North American Colonies was a great money-making opportunity. Growing sugar on islands off the North American coast was so profitable that one man's capital may have spilled over to a relative who lived generations later. People were also quite excited about the idea of Capitalism, the economic system in which one makes even more money by investing his capital in a growing business, for example. Finally, people saw that the vast fields in the New World would yield much produce, and that moving to the Colonies was an opportunity too good to pass up. Religious conflict, however, was the main factor contributing to the English migration to New England. The...

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

Motivating and leading - Research Paper Example Marketing Plan of Coca Cola Marketing mix is a tool that enables the marketers of a particular product to make it attractive for the consumers. The marketers cannot control the external factors, hence, have limited chances to make the product look attractive for the consumers. Marketing mix involves decisions that may help in adjusting these internal controllable factors according to the needs of the consumers. The marketing plan of brands like coca cola clearly considers these factors to capture a larger global market (Kotler & Armstrong 2005, p 56) . This paper aims to examine the marketing plan of coca Cola and measures the contribution of factors which help in developing customer loyalty and brand recognition. Marketing Plan of Coca Cola: Marketing requires clear objectives to be achieved. The first and most important factor in designing and formulating a marketing plan is to identify the target audience. The targeted audience of Coca-Cola is undoubtedly circled around all age gr oups, cultures and societies. The biggest advantage that Coca Cola has today is its brand name. A well known brand like Coca Cola is much easier to be marketed than others (Mowen & Minor 2001, p 280). People can easily be attracted towards such products by careful consideration.

Introduction to International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Introduction to International Business - Essay Example International trade and world output Free international trade facilitates the countries to specialize in the manufacture of the different goods based on the comparative cost advantage and the economies of scale due to various factors such as favorable climatic conditions, availability of raw materials, manpower and geographical location. The markets would be efficient on the global scale if there is free trade and there are no restrictions placed by the governments on the movement of goods by way of customs duties, taxes and quotas. When the world is moving towards this ideal situation, on its way the efficiency in the global markets will result into increased world output, depending upon the progress. However, various factors such as the need for protecting the agriculture and local industries, the goal of self-sufficiency, balance of payments situation and phase of the economic development of the country dictates the policies to be pursued by the governments. The world output is re lated to international trade, and for example during the times of depression, trade will contract on account of reduction in spending in general by the consumers, consequently the world output; and the revival in consumer spending will emerge when the consumer confidence increases once the recessionary pressures are over. However, the disadvantages due to poor infrastructure have an adverse impact on the economic development in the developing and the underdeveloped countries, and consequently on the international trade. Rich (1992, P. 10) states that there is the problem of the emerging and developing countries who confront the advanced countries with the disadvantage of lacking sufficient  industry and infrastructure to compete, yet competition is the means by which  they can develop their industrial basis and gain the technology for raising their  standards of living.    2. Broad pattern of international trade underpin There are several models for predicting the patterns o f trade. For example, comparative advantage which leads to specialization is based on the theory propounded by David Recardo. However, this Ricardian model of comparative advantage could be neutralized by several factors such as transportation costs and trade costs. Also, the increase in one or more of the components of the cost over a period of time could act as a barrier. Moreover, monetary policies pursued by the government takes into account the factors such as the overall balance of payment position, interest rates and inflation which may have a bearing on the comparative advantage (or disadvantage). This theory is also criticized on account of its assumption about the labor as the critical input. Also, the comparative advantage could be vitiated by the protectionist measures of the other countries. Theories such as ‘New Trade Theory’ and ‘Gravity model of trade’ are based on empirical analysis compared to the earlier theoretical models. The continuous shift in comparative advantage with reference to various products makes the international trade very dynamic and the pattern and the  basis for the balance of trade in goods and services  undergo changes over the period of time. Proudman and Redding (1998, p. 19) state: Theoretical models of growth and trade suggest that patterns of international specialisation are inherently dynamic and evolve endogenously over time. Economic theory pin-points some forces that leads to

Buddhism- Critical Thinking Paper Essay Example for Free

Buddhism- Critical Thinking Paper Essay October 3, 2011 Buddhism- Critical Thinking Paper Part One: Origin Buddhism was founded by Prince Siddhartha Gautama. His father the king kept him sheltered from the world. He never witnessed sadness, hungry, pain, or the aging. On four occasions he had visions of people sick, hungry and dying. After having the visions he left his family and his home to go out to experience the world on the â€Å"Great Renunciation†. For six years he had very little to eat or drink. Finally one day while sitting under a fig tree, (Bodhi-tree of wisdom). He was enlightened about the way life should be. He had reached nirvana (the highest level of knowledge). Once he reached nirvana he changed his name to Buddha (meaning: the Enlightened One). Identity Buddha gave the Sermon at Benares to share what he had discovered during his meditation under the fig tree (Bodhi-the tree of wisdom). He thought the Four Nobles and Eightfold Noble Path. His belief was if you stopped desire you would not suffer. You can obtain what is called the Middle Way when you use moderation. This is to keep you from desire. Meaning The meaning of Buddhism is to find inner peace. To be removed from life’s desires. Morality There is a sense of morality in Buddhism. It is taught not commit adultery, or to steal, or to lie. They look at stealing and adultery as somewhat the same. To commit adultery is like stealing someone else’s partner. Destiny The destiny for a Buddhist is to reach nirvana, totally enlightened and to be wise about life. Buddhism- Critical Thinking Paper Part two: Origin Buddhism was founded by an Asian prince who was on a six year quest for knowledge and wisdom. Christianity was created by God though his inspired words, through prophets and the teachings of Jesus. Identity Buddhism’s identity is peace and wisdom.

Essay --

There are a lot of women suffering from different types of prolapses with uterine being one of the most common and they do not seek medical attention due to being embarrassed or just scared. It is somewhat considered taboo and isn’t spoken of as often as say, having a hysterectomy or other female conditions. Most women are unaware of the symptoms and therefore don’t seek medical attention before it becomes a more serious issue that will most likely require surgery to fix. The definition of uterine prolapse is the uterus gradually descends into the vagina and often times takes the upper portions of the vagina with it. Most often a prolapse is caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles and ligaments. It can present at any stage but often comes in three distinct stages. Once it descends into the vagina walls it can continue to descend until it actually protrudes out of the vagina entrance. In the 1st degree the cervix is still inside the vagina. In the 2nd degree the cervix appears outside the vagina opening and the labia can become irritated and ulcerative. In the 3rd degree there is a complete prolapse outside of the body and it can contain the bladder, uterus and rectum. This condition is sometimes called a complete procidentia. It can be caused by a multitude of reasons. Multiple vaginal births, having larger babies, excessive straining from constipation, heavy lifting or being overweight, weak pelvic floor muscles due to lack of use, aging or going through menopause. Although uterine prolapse can happen to anyone at any age, it’s most common in women who have gone through menopause and for many of the reasons stated above. Some of the symptoms of pelvic floor organ prolapse are: havin... ...ith prolapsed organs. Maintaining a healthy diet to include lots of fruits and vegetables and fiber is the best way to prevent constipation as well as drinking plenty of fluids. It has been recommended to drink half your body weight in ounces every day to maintain a healthy inner eco system. Drinking plenty of water helps maintain balance of hormones, bowel functions and cellular health. Other preventive measures can be taken when heavy lifting is required, be sure to used legs when lifting heavy objects or while working out. Proper lifting techniques will also prevent other injuries. By maintaining a healthy weight you will also prevent undue pressure on lower pelvic floor muscles. By practicing good prevention techniques not only will the pelvic floor be in good health but the rest of the body will benefit as well. Here’s to pelvic floor health! W/C 1184

The Fortune at the Bottom of Pyramid

Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the Pyramid By Heidi Krauel and Joel Montgomery, 2009 Acumen Fund Fellows April 2010 Summary Enterprises serving bottom of the pyramid (BoP) markets have tremendous opportunity to create commercial and social impact, but are often illequipped to do so. A particular question that needs to be studied is: how can we sell more effectively to BoP consumers? In this piece, Acumen Fund Fellows Heidi Krauel and Joel Montgomery draw on their field experiences and research to explain how we can build more effective sales organizations to serve the BoP.Contents Summary Introduction The Survey + Profile of Companies + Overview of Findings + Performance Rating Methodology Step One: Recruit Ambassadors Step Two: Realize Potential Step Three: Reinforce Training + Data Collection + Compensation Conclusion References About the Authors 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 Introduction The business world has heard about â€Å"The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyram id† for some time.In his seminal work, CK Prahalad asserts that multinational corporations (MNCs) can stimulate commerce at the bottom of the economic pyramid to improve the lives of the four billion people in the world living in poverty and turn a healthy profit along the way. i This assertion is supported by various case studies, suggesting that the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) is a source of untapped profits for corporations that target local people as both producers and consumers and inspire innovation for new technologies and commercial activities. i A 2008 empirical study by Rodrigo Guesalaga and Pablo Marshall compares the buying power index (BPI) of the BoP market relative to the BPI of middle and high-income market segments and finds that â€Å"relative to the total market, the BoP sector accounts, on average, for more than 50 percent of the purchasing power in developing countries. iii† Large groups of poor consumers have the power to reject or accept what an M NC wants to sell, thereby forcing MNCs to overcome BoP market constraints and revise antiquated business models. v Since the BoP term was first coined, several MNCs and start-ups have introduced new products and services to the world’s poorest customers with mixed success. One leader in this movement is Acumen Fund, which invests in start-up social enterprises that employ market-based solutions to providing the poor with basic goods and services—water, healthcare, energy, agriculture, and housing. An underlying principle of Acumen’s work is that when poor consumers are given the dignity of choice, they are transformed from passive recipients of aid into customers with powerful voices that the business community cannot afford to ignore.Addressing this voice in a sustainable, scalable way is no easy matter, especially for resource-constrained young businesses. Krauel & Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund 1 Lessons from the Field: Sales at t he Bottom of the Pyramid The tools that traditional companies in more affluent markets utilize to understand and reach customers–studies, mailing lists, online campaigns, chambers of commerce, YellowPages, mass media channels— don’t exist or can’t easily be applied in developing countries.BoP-facing companies grapple with language and cultural barriers, infrastructure challenges, and capital constraints, regardless of whether they are an established multi-national corporation or a start-up trying to build a brand from scratch. While literature detailing the benefits of social enterprises is widespread, little attention is paid to the personnel management and organization building of small- and mediumsized enterprises trying to operate in these markets.After a ten-month field placement with two sales-focused Acumen Fund investees in India and Pakistan, Heidi Krauel and Joel Montgomery (2009 Acumen Fellows) were interested in exploring and uncovering common practices among small-and medium-sized enterprises that are successfully building sales organizations to serve the BoP. This executive summary presents the findings from a survey that Krauel and Montgomery conducted with organizations that target the poor through a variety of sales models.Forty-two different organizations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia participated in the survey and contributed to the BoP Salesforce Lifecycle – a framework which identifies specific steps that social enterprises can take to accelerate their growth and development. Krauel and Montgomery suggest that this three-pronged model – Recruit, Realize, and Reinforce –may help BoP companies break through the barriers they face in building high-performing sales organizations to serve the poor. BOP SALESFORCE LIFECYCLE A three-pronged framework that identifies steps social enterprises can take to build an effective sales forceRECRuIt â€Å"ambassadors† with strong soft skills by l everaging low-cost company assets REALIzE potential using ongoing, experience-based training built upon â€Å"on-the-ground† realities REInFORCE by linking smart data collection to performance-based pay and perks The Survey Profile of Companies An online survey was conducted in July 2009 with the CEOs or Heads of Sales at small- and medium-sized enterprises serving low-income customers in developing countries. The majority of respondents (31 of 42) have fewer than 100 employees and 69% percent have less than $1 million in annual revenues.The age distribution of survey responders is fairly even with 21% of companies in their first year of operations, 31% with two to five years operating history, 29% with six to ten years, and 19% with ten or more years. The survey set is dominated by for-profit companies (71%) and one-third of all respondents (36%) have received venture capital investment. Consumer Goods is the most common industry focus (33% of companies), followed by Busines s Services (24%), Consumer Services (17%), Agricultural or Industrial Products (12%), and Other products or services (14%).The majority of companies target primarily low-income and/ or rural consumers: 81% of companies target low-income, 64%, rural. Fewer companies target the urban (36%) or middleincome (26%) consumer. Overview of Findings Challenges: Survey responders report common challenges in finding salespeople with the requisite skills and then extracting top performance in terms of meeting sales targets, effective Krauel & Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund 2 Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the PyramidSalesforce's Performance Ratings Based on End Customer type 100% % of companies surveyed 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 36% 44% 33% Primarily Low-Income Primarily Rural Primarily Urban 26% ;gt;10% Primarily Mid-Income 81% 64% % of Companies (n=42) % High Perfomers 44% Performance Rating Methodology Companies were rated based on self-reported data on p erformance against company sales targets. Companies reporting meeting or beating at least 75% of their sales targets are High Performers, while companies whose sales teams meet or beat 50%-74% of targets are Medium Performers.Low Performers tend to miss more than 50% of their sales targets. Having venture capital (VC) investors does not necessarily correlate with high performance, with 47% of VC-backed companies rated as High Performers compared to 48% of companies without VC backing. Similarly, non-profit or for-profit status has little impact on performance ratings, with 58% of all non-profits and 43% of all forprofit companies being High Performers. Nearly half of companies that target low-income customers are High Performers. †¦This is a promising finding for entrepreneurs aspiring to build successful companies aimed at eradicating the â€Å"poverty penalty. † Company Performance Based on Years in Operation Companies of all ages are High performers, but an inflection point emerges at five or more years of operating history. 20 Years in Operation: ;gt;15 (n=3) 10 to 15 (n=5) 6 to 10 (n=12) 12 10 2 to 5 (n=13) 0 to 2 (n=9) High Medium Low time management, and thoughtful prioritization of markets and customers. Advantages: Participating companies also report unique advantages that can be leveraged to break through these barriers.Social missions act as powerful magnets to new salespeople and relatively high retention rates make investing in sales force development a viable option. Promising practices around soft-skills-based sales force recruitment and assessment, experiential and ongoing sales force training programs, and low-tech but rigorous data collection linked to appropriate compensation schemes emerged and are discussed in the sections below. Some of these practices also corresponded with existing best practices and research in the field of Sales Force Development in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Interestingly, companies primarily foc used on notoriously challenging rural and low-income markets do not seem to be paying a penalty when it comes to performance. Forty-four percent of companies focused on rural markets are High Performers, compared to 33% of companies focused on urban markets. Similarly, nearly half (15 of 34) of companies that target low-income customers are High Performers compared to less than 10% of companies that include middle-income consumers in their target market.This is a promising finding for entrepreneurs aspiring to build successful companies aimed at eradicating the â€Å"poverty penalty. † An inflection point in company size and stage emerges from the survey responses, after which performance against targets significantly improves. Of the companies rated as High Performers, 80% have more than 20 employees and 65% have more than $250,000 in annual revenue. This report hopes to highlight tangible steps that companies can take to not only improve performance in the near term, but al so accelerate progress towards this inflection point and down the path towards size and scale.Krauel ; Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund 3 Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the Pyramid Step One: Recruit Ambassadors Barrier Hiring skilled sales staff Breakthrough Recruit ambassadors with strong soft skills by leveraging low cost assets top Hiring Barriers by Percent of Companies (n=42) *Note: respondents could choose more than one category Lack of necessary skills — Lack of necessary work experience — Poor cultural fit — Ability to offer competitive wages — Unknown company brand — 19% 24% 36% 43% 40%Nearly all companies (93%) report Other — 10% that hiring salespeople is somewhat challenging (45%), if not extremely Company location — 10% challenging (48%). Lack of core skills, Ability to offer competitive benefits — 10% direct experience, and cultural fit (with formalized and/or fast-paced startup environments) are consistently reported as the top hiring barriers, regardless of company size Candidates with significant, direct experience are hard to find v or stage. Yet, only 10% of companies note retention as a serious in large numbers; survey findings suggest that BoP managers challenge.This may be driven by the heavy use of personal should also target individuals that possess strong soft skills relationships in recruiting, but dedication to the social mission assets (local relationships, personal confidence, verbal is also reported as a top reason for why salespeople are joining communication, and community influence), and then test these these companies. Still, companies report that obtaining good skills in action as part of the interview process. performance from these committed sales teams is problematic.The survey suggests ways that BoP managers can more High Performers consistently report integrating active effectively hire in uncertain environments and then us e high demonstrations into their hiring processes. Sales force retention rates and mission alignment as rationale for investing interviewees are potential ambassadors for the company who – in the development of incoming sales staff. vi when given basic product information – should be able to shine REASOnS SALES PEOPLE JOIn (â€Å"ASSEtS†), SuCCESSFuL RECRuItIng StRAtEgIES (â€Å"tOOLS†) (n=42) StARt-uP ;gt;20 employees; n=14) SMALL EntERPRISE (20–100 employees; n=17) MED—LARgE EntERPRISE (101–500+ employees; n=11) Assets + Social Mission (n=X, 93%) + Start-up Energy (n=X, 36%) + Social Mission (n=X, 67%) + Competitive + Professional Wages (n=X, 53%) + Social Mission (n=X, 80%) + Competitive Wages (n=X, 53%) Development (47%) + Brand (n=X, 40%) tools + Word-of-Mouth Referrals (n=X, 86%) + Word-of-Mouth Referrals (n=X, 86%) + Word-of-Mouth Referrals (n=X, 62%) + Recruiting Agency (n=X, 52%) Krauel ; Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the Pyramid in role-playing scenarios, trial product demonstrationsvii, or sales contests with potential customers. Post-hire, companies can invest in comprehensive, hard skills training reinforced by thoughtful performance assessment and compensation schemes. This emphasis on recruiting first for soft skills, and then augmenting with training, corresponds with research of Mayer and Greenberg, who advocate for the hiring of employees with real sales ability and talent, instead of mere experience. iii During the recruiting process, BoP managers should keep in mind the unique assets that attract sales people to the particular stage of their company. Start-ups (classified as fewer than 20 employees) can boast of the energy of a new venture and also tout their social mission. Small Enterprises (20-100 employees), on the other hand, can boast of more competitive wages and professional development opportunities. With Me dium – Large Organizations (101-500+ employees), brand recognition becomes more important, though social missionRecruit for â€Å"soft skills† not just years of experiencesalesperson interviewees should be able to shine in roleplaying scenarios and trial product demonstrations. and competitive wages also play an integral part in attracting sales people. Across the board, using word-of-mouth referrals is one of the most important recruiting tools. For Medium – Large Organizations, use of recruitment agencies becomes more common. Newspaper advertisements are another popular recruiting strategy, while little use is made of recruiting or company websites in the hiring process.Lastly, companies of all sizes report keeping senior managers directly involved in hiring sales staff, with 79% overall indicating that the CEO or similar person is directly involved in sales force recruitment. RECRuIt: Innovations from the Field—Quotes from survey responses â€Å"We co mmunicate this activity as a entrepreneurial opportunity†¦which would eventually help them in learning business practices in addition to serving their community. † Indian consumer products company â€Å"We try to rope in satisfied customers [as sales people]. Indian energy product company â€Å"We identify [sales] people by analyzing if they have visited family in the countryside recently†¦ because that is where they will work with us. † Latin American energy products company â€Å"Motivating staff to the social impact of our products†¦. Since the message is out and understood, our staff will go the extra mile. † African food products company Step Two: Realize Potential Barrier Effectively training sales people in a way that is consistent with ompany strategy and priorities Breakthrough Realize potential using ongoing, experiential training based on ground realities As a manager from a Large European Consumer Goods Company states, â€Å"Training is the key, it takes time to develop [a] BoP sales force. † The value of sales training programs depends on the actual number of training hours along with the quality of the curriculum and instructors. Sixty-five percent of High performing companies conduct at least 10 hours of initial training during the first month of employment compared to only 30% of Medium and 33% of Low Performers. For most HighKrauel ; Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund 5 Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the Pyramid tRAInIng PRACtICES BY COMPAnY PERFORMAnCE RAtIng (n=42) HIgH (n=20) Specialized sales training 10+ hours initial sales training Ongoing sales training Experiential sales training 85% 65% 85% 85% MEDIuM (n=10) 60% 30% 70% 80% LOW (n=12) 58% 33% 42% 62% Performers, the initial training is complemented by periodic refreshers. Eighty-five percent of High performing companies conduct ongoing training compared to 70% of Medium performing companies and 42% of Low performing companies.Not surprisingly, High performing companies dedicate more time to training sales staff, but quantity alone is not sufficient. Many companies indicate that experiential training is the most effective method of training sales people. At least 80% of High and Medium Performers focus on experiential training (role plays, shadowing, etc. ) as opposed to pure lecture form, compared to just 62% of Low Performers. This finding corresponds with the research of Galloix and Robinson x, which cites the importance of role-playing in training good salesmen.Survey findings show a disconnect between the challenges sales staff face in the field and the sales training programs that companies offer. Market prioritization and time management are consistently rated as the top challenges managers face with salespeople, but fewer than half of participating companies provide training in these areas. While High Performers are generally more pleased with the quality of their training programs, only 40% indicate that sales staff have actually acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective in the field, compared to just 20% of Medium performing companies and 0% of Low performing companies.Recent research from the developed world suggests that highperforming SMEs successfully integrate R;D into customer outreach (sales and marketing). xi Perhaps, organizations selling to the BoP can benefit from making training a priority and ensuring that training programs are ongoing, consistent with company priorities, and relevant to the on-the-ground realities that sales people face. xii REALIzE: Innovations from the Field â€Å"We gave a one-day training that included a morning full of lecture. The second half of the day, we dropped sales people off in random villages and asked them to sell a product in one hour. Pakistani agricultural product company â€Å"We blend classroom training and demonstration camps.This provides participants an opportunity to learn, apply theoretical learning in live camps and again come back to classroom for clarification about doubts/feedback. † Indian consumer goods company â€Å"We do our operational training in the field with a new customer in as public a place as possible to create a buzz while doing the training. † African consumer services company Step Three: Reinforce Training Barrier Poor performance of sales staff Breakthrough Reinforce training and ompany strategy by linking smart data collection with perks and performance-based compensation Krauel ; Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund 6 Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the Pyramid High Performers use rigorous data collection and innovative compensation schemes to reinforce company sales strategy and boost performance. xiii Data collection Nearly all companies (95%) collect basic sales data on a regular basis, and many High and Medium Performers collect sales data on a weekly or if not daily basis ( 63% vs. 33% of Low Performers).This is striking given how challenging data collection can be in developing countries that lack robust IT and communication infrastructure. This challenge is compounded for companies with sales staff that live and work in the underserved communities they are trying to reach (mainly low-income, rural). Companies are breaking through these infrastructure barriers by using a blend of SMS, verbal, email and paper-based methods to capture results from the field. These â€Å"IT-light† practices don’t necessarily change as companies get larger, with 55% of companies with 100 or more employees reporting continued use of verbal reporting.However, older companies (five or more years of operation) report increased use of email and mobile phones in data collection along with decreased use of paper and verbal methods. High Performers also report limited use of verbal reporting (only 30% compared to 60% of Medium and Low Performers). These findings sug gest that BoP companies may be able to avoid investment in expensive ERP or CRM systems, but that there is significant value in adopting rigorous low-tech solutions that are easy to follow, consistently used, relatively scalable, and that limit errors. iv High performing companies are also much more likely to dedicate training time specifically to data reporting. With â€Å"compliance with company policies† consistently ranked among the top two or three sales force priorities, frequent data collection integrated into training and compensation schemes may be a underutilized but promising practice.xv REInFORCE—DAtA: Innovations from the Field â€Å"Ensure data collection is seen as a specific skill. † Indian healthcare service provider â€Å"We give minor incentives to the top performers in each week's data metric. † African equipment company We issue discount coupons [in order to] capture data from customers. † India financial services company Compen sation Surprisingly, survey responders did not report the inability to offer competitive wages as a significant barrier to growth. Fewer than one-in-four companies note wages as one of the top two challenges in hiring salespeople. However, what these BoPfacing companies might be gaining in sales force affordability, they may be losing in productivity and performance. Company responders are using creative compensation schemes to breakthrough the performance barrier.High performing companies are less likely than Medium and Low Performers to offer variable compensation (35% vs. 70% and 50%, respectively), but those High Performers that offer bonuses and/or commissions, do so aggressively. For High Performers, variable compensation constitutes 46% of total compensation compared to 21% at Low Performers. High Performers are also more likely to complement pay packages with attractive perks and benefits, with 75% offering perks compared to 42% of Low Performers. This raises the point as to how companies think about allocating employee-related expenditures.Targeting rural, low-income clients often translates into long hours, extensive travel, and limited creature comforts for sales staff. BoP companies may benefit from capping overall sales wages at market-rates and investing remaining funds towards employee health insurance, Companies have other levers to pull when it comes to data collection. Forty-five percent of High Performers tie data reporting to compensation, compared to 33% of Low Performers. High performing companies are also much more likely to dedicate training time specifically to data reporting (71% compared to just 50% of Low and Medium Performers).Krauel & Montgomery, April 2010  · Copyright  © 2010 Acumen Fund 7 Lessons from the Field: Sales at the Bottom of the Pyramid transportation, lodging, meals, mobile phones, or retirement plans – perks that can improve a salesperson’s quality of life while also directly supporting sales-relat ed activities. REInFORCE—COMPEnSAtIOn: Innovations from the Field + Eco-friendly paper salesmen are eligible for profit-sharing. + Rural energy salesman receive bonuses on a sliding scale, based on company performance. ConclusionAfter 50 or more years of somewhat ineffectual international development efforts, there is a new awakening among practitioners and business leaders around a different way to approach the problems of poverty: through market-based approaches. At the heart of every market-based approach, there is a customer and a company. And, at the heart of every customer relationship, there is a sales force. In many ways, the success or failure of the BoP movement will hinge upon companies’ and organizations’ abilities to build and maintain high performing sales organizations.Interestingly, our findings resonate with existing academic research on how to construct effective sales organizations, and perhaps BoP businesses can also learn from the best pract ices in sales force development for SMEs. The first step BoP-facing social enterprises can take to confront challenges with less developed labor markets is to clearly articulate their unique company assets (based on company stage) as they actively Recruit sales staff with strong soft skills who can become true ambassadors and champions of the company.Next, companies can Realize sales force potential with ongoing and experience-based training programs, designed with on-the-ground realities in mind. Lastly, linking training topics to targeted data collection and compensation schemes can help to Reinforce and institutionalize company priorities and sales strategies. + African salespeople receive live chickens as rewards during sales meetings. + Latin American rural logistics company provides funds for vacation travel. + Rural energy company follows â€Å"open book management† so sales team sees how their performance fits in. + Community water system company provides salesmen ith equity shares.

Asian Agri and the future of Palm oil Essay

Is Tanoto correct that palm oil has a bright future? Tanoto is correct that palm oil – aka the â€Å"golden corp† of Southeast Asia – has a bright future. It is very economic to be produced, due to its high yield and low cost of production compared with production of other edible oils. With higher economic growth, the demand for food and fuel is rapidly growing in the Asian countries of India and China. So, it is likely that we see a similar positive effect on the demand for Palm oil. Additionally, in today’s world, there are health concerns regarding the rise in the use of trans-fat. This has led consumers and packaged goods to companies limit its use. The increasing health consciousness has would contribute to increased use of this commodity as palm oil is trans-fat free. Furthermore, with increasing requirement for biodiesel, palm oil could well become an important part of the renewable fuel and play a vital role in the energy business. If yes, how should Asian Agri strengthen its position? If no, what should Yeo’s strategy be? If unclear, what could Yeo do to improve the global use of palm oil? I think due to the increasing role that palm oil has to play in the global economy, Asian Agri should strengthen its position in the industry and promote the global use of palm oil. They could do this through: Sustainable Production Asian Agri should aggressively stimulate the use of sustainable palm oil. They can do this by keeping to the set of economic, environmental, legal, and social standards set, in the production process of palm oil. Since sustainability will be an important factor for the company to differentiate itself from competitors and to stay strong in the industry, the company should continue to get all its â€Å"properties† certified as â€Å"sustainable†. They can also train middle managers, supervisors and workers on sustainable palm oil production. Expansion With palm oil demand rising, Asian Agri should continue to expand their plantation size. Although there are visible difficulties to acquire land in Indonesia, the company should not desert their expansion plans. I feel that it will be a good choice to diversify geographically, predominantly to countries in Africa and South America where land is abundant. This helps the company to diversify risk both politically and financially. It makes good financial sense to not put all their eggs in one basket – Indonesia, and good political sense as political instability or riots are a very real possibility in Indonesia. Additionally, by growing its trading and sourcing operations, Asian Agri can derive more value from its market expertise and refining activities. This will help the company to establish direct linkages with its customers at the destination market. This could also help reduce supply chain related expenses for of the company. Marketing and Promotion I think Asian Agri can undertake more marketing and promotional activities, which could help them increase market share. They can play off the fact on health advantages that palm oil has over other edible oils. The point that palm oil is trans-fatâ€Å"` free can be put to good use in the marketing campaign, which will help address increasing concerns of trans fat consumption. They can do this through advertisements, usage of social media, and distribution of brochures that will help educate customers. With projections indicating that global palm oil production would nearly double by 2020, it makes sense that Asian Agri to be proactive in its expansion, marketing and promotional plans. Although we recognize the rising anxiety from environmental NGOs and other challenges, the fact remains that palm oil business has very high potential, given sustainable production and good promotion.

Was the Operation CHROMITE concept sound manoeuverist logic essays

Was the Operation CHROMITE concept sound manoeuverist logic essays Was the Operation CHROMITE concept sound manoeuverist logic justifying General MacArthur's resolute determination and acceptance of the inherent risks, or was success attributable more to his intuition and good luck? General Douglas MacArthur was the architect of the victory at Inchon, he was a 70 year old veteran of both world wars and was at the time Commander in Chief, Far East (CINCFE) Theatre. He was responsible for formulating a response to the North Korean invasion which had begun on 25 Jun 1950, as you have already heard his response was Operation CHROMITE. In the next 15 minutes I will attempt to focus on MacArthurs role and vision and answer the question as to whether it was his determination and acceptance of risk that led to the victory or more simply his intuition and good luck. I will look at the background, the plan, briefly look at the operation itself and then draw conclusions. Throughout I hope to link back to the five key areas of this question: manoeuverist logic; determination; risks; intuition and good luck. In Jul MacArthur had large numbers of troops commited to holding back the N Koreans however he had realised that a decisive solution to the conflict was needed. Having seen the South Koreans retreating he stated he would rely upon strategic manoeuver to overcome the great odds against me. It would be desperate, but it was my only chance. With the war a little over a week old he had instructed his COS, General Edward Almond, to consider plans for an amphibious operation to strike the enemy centre of communications at Seoul, an indirect appraoch designed to shatter enemy cohesion. Mac Arthur never wavered from his commitment to Inchon despite a number of postponements. The North Korean Army had forced the combined Republic of Korea and US forces to positions on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, a distance of some 150 miles. To stop this MacArthur had had to use every ava...

5 More Dangling Modifiers

5 More Dangling Modifiers 5 More Dangling Modifiers 5 More Dangling Modifiers By Mark Nichol Judging from the relative ease with which I accumulate real-world examples of dangling modifiers introductory phrases that provide additional information but do not integrate grammatically with the sentence’s subject I conclude that this error is among the most common of grammatical sentence-construction flubs. Here are five more examples from my overstuffed vault. 1. â€Å"A culmination of eighteen years of work, Jones admits he realized he was ‘basically making the same movie over and over again.’† The writer has hidden the key component of this sentence a reference to a film Jones directed after the revelation that his previous work had been repetitive. Any effective revision of this sentence must explicitly refer to the latest project, but the sentence should also begin by identifying the filmmaker and then parenthetically referring to the newest film: â€Å"Jones, whose film is a culmination of eighteen years of work, admits he realized he was ‘basically making the same movie over and over again.’† 2. â€Å"Delivered in Smith’s soft-spoken, nurturing manner, students can paint along with the master.† As in the previous example, this sentence only implies the context this is a description of an audio recording of an artist teaching people how to paint. For the sentence to make sense, the educational materials must be explicitly mentioned: â€Å"Using these lessons, delivered in Smith’s soft-spoken, nurturing manner, students can paint along with the master.† 3. â€Å"Tall, still lean, and still performing at eighty-three, Taylor’s legacy has not diminished with time.† Taylor, rather than his legacy, is described in the introductory phrase, so the two ideas must be separated, and Taylor must be associated with the descriptions, while the reference to the legacy can be appended at the end: â€Å"Tall and still lean, Taylor is still performing at eighty-three, and his legacy has not diminished with time.† 4. â€Å"For Lukas’s mom, playing in the school band has given her son a chance to stretch himself and see what he is capable of accomplishing.† This sentence reads as if Lukas’s mother is playing in the school band and implies that her participation has had the stated effects on her son. But he, not his mother, is in the school band, and her role in the sentence is merely to provide the information. This sentence can easily convey the writer’s intent with a straightforward attribution: â€Å"Lukas’s mom says her son’s participation in the school band has given him a chance to stretch himself and see what he is capable of accomplishing.† 5. â€Å"A brutal dictator, his regime was unchallenged until the uprising that began in February.† According to this sentence, someone’s regime was a brutal dictator. The revision should simply identify the regime as â€Å"belonging† to the tyrant: â€Å"The brutal dictator’s regime was unchallenged until the uprising that began in February.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"60 Synonyms for â€Å"Trip†Threw and Through

What Are The Global Trends Of International Student Mobility And Their Term Paper

What Are The Global Trends Of International Student Mobility And Their Implications For Hong Kong - Term Paper Example The national development efforts that are prevailing worldwide are currently focused on acquiring, maintaining and improving such capacities (Guruz & Zimpher, 2011). The system of higher education acts as a key components regarding the education, the training and the Research & Development (R&D) system of a national economy. One of the components in system of higher education is referred to as an academic mobility. The international mobility of quality students and scholars are recognized to be quite old phenomenon. It eventually happened at the beginning of the medieval European foundation of higher education when it was at times quite unattainable to differentiate the students from the teachers. Thus, internationalization of an advanced education includes transitional activities of students, scholars, programs and institutions across the cross border regions. These are jointly defined as transnational or cross border higher education (Montgomery, 2010). The global student mobility refers particularly to those students who are learning in a foreign country. It is regarded or treated as one of the components of international higher education, along with having the greatest socioeconomic, cultural and political implications. According to UNESCO, â€Å"a foreign student is a person enrolled at an institution of higher education in a country or territory of which he is not a permanent resident† (Guruz & Zimpher, 2011). It has been recognized fact that most of the countries comply with the definition provided by UNESCO, regarding the global student mobility, but still there are certain distinctions among the countries regarding the definition of a foreign student (Guruz & Zimpher, 2011). In this connection, UNESCO defines students having global mobility as those who are not the permanent residents of the host country and excludes those who are on exchange programs of one year or less. Especially, UNESCO is currently working on a more strict definition by inc luding prior education as a major criterion. Thus, it can be concluded that more consistent along with more dependable data on foreign student or international student mobility is forthcoming (Guruz & Zimpher, 2011). In the paper, the global trends of international student mobility along with their implications for Hong Kong has been elaborately focused and discussed followed by a strong conclusion upon this topic. Various aspects regarding the implications of global trends of internalization, role of globalization, transnational trends, factors affecting international student mobility, economy, society & higher education of Hong Kong and recent trends in the global student mobility will also be taken into consideration for this paper. Factors Affecting International Student Mobility There are several factors or ways through which the issue of globalization shifted to free market economy which has eventually affected the governance and financing of traditional institutions of higher education. The issue of increasing market forces marked a remarkable impact upon the higher education in the form of resource diversification and increasing dependence on tuition fees in public institutions along with expanding share of private institutions in national higher learning system (Guruz & Zimpher, 2011). By focusing upon the above mentioned factors, it has been recognized that certain transformation has come at a time of increasing demand regarding global post secondary learning that ultimately change view of the purpose of the nation along with resulting decrease in public subsidies. The institutions of higher education in many countries have been given freedom in order to generate

Legal and ethical issues in the business environment Coursework

Legal and ethical issues in the business environment - Coursework Example Legal and ethical issues in the business environment The growing complexity in the business world has brought forward a serious problem that is growing at a rapid rate among numerous working individuals. The issue that is the primary focus of this paper is drug and alcohol abuse at workplace. In the light of current business scenario, use of drug and alcohol is growing steadily and can take the shape of a serious issue at workplace in the near future. Drugs and alcohol not only have negative impact on health of individuals who consume it but can prove hazardous for others present in the surrounding environment of the particular individual (Lowinson, 2005; Ghodse, 2005). Workplace problems are posed by consumption of illegal drugs as well as by misuse of legal prescription drugs and alcohol. It has been found in recent studies that legal drugs that have been prescribed by doctors can have strong impact on a person’s working capabilities such as level of concentration and alertness. Additionally, numerous individuals were also found to be heavily dependent on certain drugs for living a normal life and cannot function without the same. Consumption of alcohol and drugs socially may not have direct effect on the performance of an individual, however, if an individual attend work under the influence of these substances, it may result in adversity in terms of performance and productivity (Lowinson, 2005).

Microboilogy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microboilogy - Essay Example 5. a.) Melted agar should be cooled to 45-47 degree Celsius before pouring to the agar plate since pouring it in a higher temperature might kill the organisms and thus falsely decrease the microbial count. c.) Aseptic technique should always be employed in order to prevent other microorganism from contaminating the set-up. Any contamination would lead to difficulty, if not, production of erroneous microbial count. 6.) Used media may contain harmful and infectious organisms; moreover it should always be treated as biologically hazardous waste. Required waste disposal can be costly; nevertheless used media can never be disposed directly into the waste basket. To date, autoclaving serves as a cheap but effective way to sterilized waste materials in microbiology laboratory. The fact that most microorganisms can not withstand autoclaving, this simple technique would conveniently address the issue on the proper disposal of used media. An autoclave must be available for the laboratory and must be operated by properly trained personnel. On a regular basis, biological indicators or spore strips should be included in autoclave loads as to verify its functionality and efficiency of sterilization. Temperature-sensitive tape, thermograph, or other biological indicators should also be used to monitor each autoclave. Scientist have investivated microbial behavior in area such as Clostridium botulinum in modified atmospheric processing, Escherichia coli in apple processing, Salmonella and E. coli in vegetable seed sprouting etc. Some studies shows that bacteria converts food

Mining Engineer Essay Example for Free

Mining Engineer Essay 1. Introduction Concerning the development of field of study, this paper will elaborate several issues regarding the mining engineer. They include the background of mining engineering, the requirements needed to be mining engineer, earnings for mining engineer professional and many others. 2. Education/Training Mining engineering like other engineering degree requires the mastery of several subjects such as mathematics including trigonometry, geometry calculus, and algebra; general science (physics, chemistry, and biology), and also social and humanities studies, information technology, and some courses in English since jobs in mining usually involve many people from different cultural background and languages (Daub, 2006). The course to obtain bachelor degree in mining engineering usually takes about 4-5 years. While the first two years, students learn about mathematics and genera science, the specialization of mining engineering occurs in the last two years in which students learn about geology, mine management, physical mineralogy and petrology, and explosive engineering. Some universities that provide mining engineering include University of Arizona, University of Utah, and West Virginia University in the U.S (Daub, 2006) and University of Exeter and in the U.K. in the University of Exeter (2007), the undergraduate students will have extensive course in mathematic and physics in order to arm the students with problem solving capability. 3. Job Skills, Talents, and Experience Mining engineering not only requires technical expertise but also physical fitness since jobs in mining engineering involves hiking, working in variety of condition such as daylight, rainy, windy etc (Daub, 2006). Particular jobs in mining engineering involves open-pit or underground mines, construction supervisory, safety issues, equipments operations and maintenance, information processing, to name a few (Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, 2007). Table 1 shows the comparison of several mining engineers in terms of required skills and talents in which each has different required capabilities. Table 1 Comparison of Skills and Talents between Mining Engineers No. Type of Engineers Required Skills/Talents 1 Blasting Engineer ï‚ § Develop blasting schedule and technique to intensify long-term goals in production 2 Sr. Mining Engineer ï‚ § Capable of developing and applying economic models to geological information system 3 Mine Engineer ï‚ § Performing routine activities in the operation and maintenance of mining equipment and systems 4 Senior Project Geologist ï‚ § Capable of designing and operating drilling programs to examine exploration potential in a location Source: (Sacrison Engineering, 2007; Kinross Gold Corporation, 2007) 4. Earnings Salary or earning for mining engineering jobs varies based on experiences, skills, industry, and job types. However, general mining engineers typically earn about $46,000 annually at minimum. However, for engineer who works in coal exploration may earn at least $50,000 per annum (Daub, 2006). Meanwhile, according to 2005 salary survey that conducted by National Association of Colleges and Employers, typically, mining engineers may expect starting salary about $48,643 per annum. Table 2 shows salary distribution in 2004 (Daub, 2006). Table 2 Distribution of Mining Engineer Salary in 2004 Distribution of Engineers 10% 25% 50% 75% 90% Salary $39,700 $50,500 $64,690 $83,050 $103,790 5. Benefits/Health Factors In addition to attractive salary packages for mining engineers, they also receive several allowances such as travel, overtime, and medical allowances that not only cover the engineers but also their family (wife/spouse, children) (Daub, 2006). 6. Employment In the U.S., the employment of mining engineer span from west to east coasts. However, there are concentrations of minerals in several areas such as Northern Michigan and Northern Minnesota for iron, Southwest for copper, and West Virginia for coal exploration (Daub, 2006). The purpose of jobs in mining engineering is to gather natural resources as raw materials for further processed that performed by other companies in order to produce final products or services (Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, 2007). 7. Typical Day There are two general job types for mining engineers: office and on site jobs. For office jobs, the working day is typically from Monday to Friday. However, for on site jobs, they may conduct various working days that differs from one company to another. For example, a company may set rules 2:1 that means 2 month of full time jobs in exploration sites and 1 month for the breaks (Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, 2007). 8. Conclusion Mining engineer is an attractive job since the occupations are often associated with high-wage jobs. However, as a rule, higher jobs mean higher risks. Therefore, we find that the underlying reasons of high-wage jobs for mining engineers are that they face high risk and require special skills. Works Cited Daub, Travis C. â€Å"Mining Engineering.† 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://www.graduatingengineer.com/futuredisc/mining.html Kinross Gold Corporation. â€Å"Senior Project Geologist.† 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.miningusa.com/employ/Kinross/KINROSS12.htm Minova USA Inc. â€Å"Mining Employment – Southwest.† Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://www.miningusa.com/employ/sw.asp Sacrison Engineering. â€Å"Mining Employment – Southwest.† 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.miningusa.com/employ/sw.asp Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. â€Å"Mining Engineering Overview.† 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://www.careercornerstone.org/pdf/mining/mining.pdf University of Exeter. â€Å"BEng Mining Engineering (UCAS code J110).† 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.uec.ac.uk/csm/undergraduate-study/mining-engineering/

The Politics of Poe :: Essays Papers

The Politics of Poe Edgar Allen Poe is known as the pioneer of the American short story, as well as a brilliant artist in poetry. His works are often tragic, or have a dark theme. Two often overlooked facets of Poe as a writer, however, are the political aspect of his works, and how far ahead he was of his time, with some material being applicable to present day situations, as exemplified by Sonnet to Science, The City in the Sea, and The Masque of the Red Death. The City in the Sea tells of a great city, with â€Å"†¦shrines and palaces and towers†¦ [which] †¦resemble nothing that is ours† (6-8). This may be a representation of metropolises at the time, for instance Philadelphia or New York City, or more likely Baltimore, where he lived at the time the poem was originally published, 1831. The description given of the city, with â€Å"†¦the good and the bad and the worst and the best†(4) and â€Å"Up domesï‚ ¾up spiresï‚ ¾up kingly halls†(17) along with multiple descriptions of a dismal atmosphere and the sea, are reminiscent of present day Manhattan Island, or Seattle. A tale of doom warns of â€Å"Hell, rising from a thousand thrones/ Shall do it reverence.(52-53) for the city. This is how many people today feel about New York City, Los Angeles, and other megalopolises. This could be a warning to the nineteenth century cities. The proverbial calm before the storm is vividly, yet tragically depicted when â€Å"†¦no ripples curl, alas!†(36), â€Å"No swellings tell of winds may be/[†¦] on seas less hideously serene.†(38-40). â€Å"But lo, a stir is in the air!/ The waveï‚ ¾there is a movement there!†(42-43). The storm has hit! The repeated use of exclamation marks in an otherwise relatively â€Å"serenely† punctuated poem gives an even more dramatic effect to the storm, strengthening the idea of peril. Though the â€Å"era of good feelings† was still prevalent during the time when the poem was first written, the civil war was beginning to brew. A division was beginning to form over the issue of slavery. This calm before the storm, and the storm that hits, as well as the built up city depicted, sings a premonition of the civil war. The Sonnet-To Science not only tells of the dangers in Poe’s time, but could easily be applied today.

Characters in Lord of the Flies Essay

The power struggle, egocentric and intolerance in society today is ruining human relationships and Golding shows this through his characters in Lord of the Flies. Through the characters Jack, Roger and Ralph, Golding shows this interaction. Jack symbolises the struggle and silent fight for power over other people, Roger represents people who easily gives up in relationships and walk away and Ralph helps demonstrate mans reliance on appearance to create and keep relationships. The island emphasises these relations and shows Goldings view of relations among people. The relationships between humans is emphasised throughout the novel, and Golding has given his views on these relations through characters in the novel. Jack is a very strong, dominant character who feels the need to gain superiority over everyone else to feel power and control. He represents the power and hunger for dominance over others and Jack shows this through scaring others and demanding them to do jobs that put Jack on top which is emphasising the silent fight for dominance in human relationships today. Jack says â€Å"I ought to be chief†¦ because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I and sing C sharp†. This narcisstic dialogue shows how Jack wants escalate the idea of how important and better he is than Ralph and all the other buys, by saying this he is showing the boys how much better he is and scaring him with his range of talents. This affects the way that the reader understands and develops Jack’s character which then shows his egotistic approach to dominance over the other boys. Golding is using the character Jack and his silent fight for dominance over the boys to show how society is constantly trying to gain superiority in relationships. This is showing how the power struggle in society is ruining human relationships. Roger in Lord of the Flies is a character developed by Golding to comment of how humans too easily give up on relationships. Roger throughout the novel develops into one of the savage followers of Jack, which brings out and dramatises the human characteristics and actions in relationships. Piggy died by being hit by a falling boulder that was pushed from the side of a cliff by Roger. This action of pushing the boulder to stop Piggy talking and complaining is how Golding showed us how human relationships are easily given up. â€Å"storm of sound†¦incantation of hatred†¦Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever†. This imagery and hyperbolic language emphasises how Roger found the easy way to escape the relationship all the boys had with Piggy as they were in a disagreement. The imagery gives a picture which makes the reader feel the tension and the hyperbolic language helps emphasise the tone of aggression that humans use today to escape relationships easily. Golding has used the character Roger to show the intolerance in relationships in society today, which is running human relationships. There are many purposes to Ralph’s character in Lord of the Flies, one is that he gives a emphasised view on mans reliance on appearance to create and keep relationships. In the beginning of the novel when the boys first arrive on the island they elect Ralph instead of Jack because of his appearance and characteristic demeanour, this reflects the attitudes of humans in society today. Golding describes Ralph through the perspective of the boys by saying â€Å"could see not that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders†, this imagery and comparison to the features needed to be an athlete gives the reader an image of what Ralph would look like and why he is looked up to by the other boys. This means the boys would rather have a fit good looking leader that they would aspire to be like, which is close to the way many people decide on their relationships with others. This is what Golding is trying to show through the character Ralph that in society h uman relationships are becoming ruined by creating relationships based on the appearance of others. Golding uses the characters in Lord of the Flies to demonstrate the power-struggle, intolerance and dependence on appearance to create and keep relationships. This is through Jacks power struggle over the other boys, Roger’s intolerance towards Piggy and how through the boys choosing Ralph to be their chief in the early hours of landing on the island it shows how his strong, built appearance was more appealing that Jack which demonstrates how appearances have a big effect on human relationships.

Case Study: Rogers’ Choclates

CASE 9: Rogers' Chocolates Strategic Management INTRODUCTION Rogers' Chocolates is the oldest chocolate company in Canada based in Victoria, British Columbia. Rogers' Chocolates focuses on the premium chocolate market and differentiates itself by delivering award winning quality products at a fair price; this combination creates a good value for its customers. They also have expertise at creating an outstanding customer experience within their Victorian themed retail locations that have also won awards. The company is privately held and currently focuses its business in four market areas, direct retail , online/mail order , wholesale, and sales from a restaurant in Victoria. The company also produces and sells a line of premium ice cream. The company employes 130 people, the majority of which are in retail. Sales from the company's retail establishments account for 50% of revenue. Production takes place on a one-shift operation in a 24,000 square foot facility and is labor intensive. There are currently no measurements in gauge productivity and efficiency in the plant. The past president focused a growth strategy in the wholesale market and current order fulfillment strategy is to give priority to online and mail-order business, followed by wholesale accounts, leaving the retail locations last to be serviced internally. Sales have seasonal swells during the holidays and demand forecasting has been an issue; they have increased inventory to deal with these sales patterns but still encounter out of stock situations. The new president has been given a goal by the board of directors to double or triple the size of the company within 10 years. PROBLEM STATEMENT The focus on the wholesale market does not inline with the strengths of the company. Furthermore, the issues in operational efficiency with regard to production capabilities and demand forecasting are hindering the company from increased growth potential. ALTERNATIVES Focus on strengthening current retail operations. Focus growing the retail business into new geographic markets. Continue to grow complementary business lines (ie. Ice Cream) Develop core competence in operations management to drive efficiencies and reduce inventories. Upgrade technology in production to increase capacity Create new product lines and packaging to broaden the customer base. Franchise Sam's Deli. Franchise retail chocolate stores. ANALYSIS In 2006, the chocolate market size for Canada was US$167 million with the premium chocolate market growing at a rate of 20% annually. Competition within the premium market is a broad mix of small local niche players to large multinational corporations and is growing as larger traditional manufacturers enter the market via acquisitions or new product launches. Product differentiation is healthy and there are no indications of a price war starting between rivals. Product innovation appears limited, mostly focusing on new flavor introductions and variations in molding and coloring. Seasonal demands, especially the eight weeks prior to Christmas, can create demand that can challenge small companies with low production capacity and/or inadequate forecasting and inventory management. Competitors vary in the level of vertical integration and companies with large-scale operations and distribution networks enjoy a competitive advantage through economies of scale. Rivalry among competing sellers is active and fairly strong due to the following conditions: There is little to no cost for buyers to switch brand. There is a fair amount of product standardization in the industry. The products in the chocolate market have large seasonal swells and are perishable causing some price competition. Higher fixed production costs adds to this pressure. The addition of new competition by established companies such as Hershey's and Cadburys. Competitive pressure from potential new entrants is medium as most of the major players in the industry are already in the premium chocolate market; the projected growth rate in the market will strongly attract new upstarts but they will have challenges developing distribution and retail penetration with little to no brand awareness. Firms in other industries will have little impact in this market as there aren't any strong substitutions to premium chocolate. Competitive pressures stemming from supplier bargaining is mixed; large-scale manufacturers will enjoy less pressure from suppliers due to economies of scale while smaller niche companies will not have as much influence, especially in the area of organic and fair trade raw materials. Pressure from the buyer community is fair; demand is high but so is the ability to switch brands. Growing demand for socially responsible products, such as fair-trade and organic will increase pressure from the buyers. The current driving forces in the market are the high growth rate in the premium market and the entrance of new major firms; consumers' emerging interest in fair-trade and organic products is also a force to be considered. Key success factors in this market include a well known and respected brand and strong direct sales and/or wholesale distribution; quality and efficient production capabilities are also key success factors. Although profit margins are down, Rogers' Chocolates is in a strong financial position. Retail accounts for 50% of the company's revenues although the two new stores in the company's portfolio are not performing to expectations. Ice cream sales, although small compared to retail, show a strong contribution to overall sales. The key financial indicators are shown below; one area of concern is the major increase in the â€Å"days of inventory† and the accompanying decrease in â€Å"inventory turnaround†. This is a concern due to the perishable nature of the product and the negative affect on customer quality perception when product is sold past the expiration date which has occurred with some sales via wholesale accounts. {draw:frame} A SWOT analysis of the company has turned up the following points: STRENGTHS: a distinctive competence in retail, specifically the â€Å"customer experience† a strong financial base to grow the business a strong regional brand and company reputation to build upon better product quality relative to rivals ood customer service capabilities in retail and online sales. WEAKNESSES: weak wholesale network brand/company awareness is poor outside of the region weak supply chain competences in forecasting problems with operational efficiencies with old technology and high cost changeovers. OPPORTUNITIES: expansion into new areas entering into alliances or joint ventures to expand market coverage continued expansion of complementary products (premium ice c ream) explore new technology within production THREATS increased competition by new entrants in the market slowdown in market growth hift in buyer needs and tastes RECOMMENDATIONS I believe that Rogers' Chocolates should implement a combination of the following alternatives: Focus on strengthening current retail operations. Focus growing the retail business into new geographic markets. Continue to grow complementary business lines (ie. Ice Cream) Develop core competence in operations management to drive efficiencies and optimize inventories. The Rogers' Chocolates brand has been built based on a high quality product and the retail experience of their Victorian themed shops and packaging. This is their core competence and strength and it should be the focus of their growth. By solidifying the performance of the current locations and then opening additional stores in new areas the will expand their brand recognition while preserving the quality of their product. There ice cream line is complementary to the business and should be further developed and sold in the stores. Internally, and operational strategy to improve efficiencies in production and demand forecasting will reduce costs, preserve product quality and optimize production and inventory capabilities.

The Blame for the Cold War Essay Example

The Blame for the Cold War Essay Example The Blame for the Cold War Essay The Blame for the Cold War Essay The blame for the Cold War cannot be placed on one person it developed as a series of chain reactions as a struggle for supremacy. It can be argued that the Cold War was inevitable, and therefore no ones fault, due to the differences in the capitalist and communist ideologies. It was only the need for self-preservation that had caused the two countries to sink their differences temporarily during the Second World War. Yet many of the tensions that existed in the Cold War can be attributed to Stalins policy of Soviet expansion. It is necessary, therefore, to examine the role of Stalin as a catalyst to the Cold War. Stalins foreign policies contributed an enormous amount to the tensions of the Cold War. His aim, to take advantage of the military situation in post-war Europe to strengthen Russian influence, was perceived to be a threat to the Americans. Stalin was highly effective in his goal to gain territory, with victories in Poland, Romania, and Finland. To the western world, this success looked as if it were the beginning of serious Russian aggressions. The western view of the time saw Stalin as doing one of two things: either continuing the expansionist policies of the tsars that preceded him, or worse, spreading communism across the world now that his one-state notion had been fulfilled. It also must be mentioned that Stalin is seen as wanting unchalleged personal power and a rebuilt Russia strong enough to withstand caplitalist encirclement.'1 Admittedly, the first view of Stalin, as an imperialist leader, may be skewed. The Russians claim, and have always claimed, that Stalins motives were purely defensive. Stalins wished to create a buffer zone of Communist states around him to protect Soviet Russia from the capitalist West. In this sense, his moves were not aggressive at all they were truly defensive moves to protect the Soviet system. His suspicions of Western hostility were not unfounded: the British and U.S. intervention in the Russian Civil War (1918-1920) were still fresh in Stalins memory when he took power. Furthermore, Stalin was bitter because he was not informed of U.S. nuclear capabilities until shortly before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Compounding tensions was the fact that Stalins request that Russia be allowed to participate in the occupation of Japan was denied, even though Russia had declared war on Japan on 8th August (the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on 10th August) and had been respon sible for annexing south Sakhalin as agreed to at Yalta. This failure to be included in the Western worlds politics created an even deeper rift between the two superpowers. Clashes between Stalin and the West first appear at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences in February and July 1946, respectively. Though the mood at Yalta was more or less cooperative, Stalin agitated matters by demanding that all German territory east of the Rivers Oder and Neisse be given to Poland (and thus remain under Soviet influence). Both Roosevelt and Churchill refused to agree to these demands. The Soviet Union responded bluntly, saying ..the Soviet Government cannot agree to the existence in Poland of a Government hostile to it.2 The atmosphere at the Potsdam Conference was noticeably cooler, with Truman replacing Roosevelt as the representative from the United States. Trumanhad been kept in complete ignorance by Roosevelt about foreign policy,3 which meant that Truman was not aware of the secret assurances of security Roosevelt had made to Stalin. His policy towards Soviet Russia, then, was much more severe than that of Roosevelt. He was quoted as saying We must stand up to the RussiansWe have been too easy with them.4 Both Truman and Churchill were annoyed because Germany east of the Rivers Oder and Neisse were being occupied by Russian troops and were being run by the pro-communist Polish government, who expelled over five million Germans. This went directly against the agreements made at Yalta earlier in the year. The west viewed this as an act of aggression on the part of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union responded with a statement saying Poland broders with the Soviet Union, what [sic] cannot be said of Great Britain or the United States.5 From this point, the Cold War truly becomes a chain reaction. In March of 1946, Churchill presented his Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri, in response to the spread of communism in eastern Europe. He called for a western alliance to combat the threat. Stalins response was hostile: rather than trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement, Stalin continued to tighten his grip on eastern Europe. Communist governments were installed in every area of eastern Europe (barring Czechoslovakia) by the end of 1947. These governments were implemented by guerrilla tactics: elections were rigged, non-communist members of the governments were expelled, with many being arrested or executed, and eventually, Stalin dissolved all non-communist political parties. Stalin began to implement a reign of terror using the Russian Army and his secret police force. Moreover, Stalin had increased his influence in the Russian zone of Germany as if it belonged to Russia. He allowed only the communist party and drained the area of its vital resources. The West reacted. It appeared to them that Russias attitude went against all of the promises that Stalin had made at Yalta namely, that Stalin would permit free elections in the eastern European states. Russia argued that it needed to maintain a sphere of influence in the area for security reasons: to this, even Churchill agreed in 1944. Further, Russia argued that the areas had never had democratic governments, and that a communist system would allow these backward countries to progress and flourish. Stalins policy of expansion worried the West: in response, the West introduced the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, both of which sought to arrest the spread of communism. Stalins aggressive tactics did not end with creating a sphere of influence. Stalin re-established Cominform in September 1947. Cominform represented a union of all of the communist states within Europe, including representatives from the French and Italian communist parties. Even within this communist structure, Stalin had to exert his influence. It was not enough for a state to be merely communist: it had to adopt the Russian-style communism. Furthermore, the states within Cominform were expected to keep trade within the Cominform member states, and were discouraged from making any contact with the Western world. Russia strengthened the ties with the Cominform countries through the Molotov plan, which offered Russian aid to the satellite states, and the establishment of Comecon, which served to coordinate the economic policies of the communist states. These actions on the part of Stalin only increased the rift between the capitalist and the communist systems, and made future comprom ise and negotiations more difficult. Perhaps the most aggressive move that Stalin made, however, was the takeover of Czechoslovakia in February 1948. Several key issues arose in this conflict. First, the U.S. felt alienated when Czechoslovakia rejected Marshall Aid, which the U.S. blamed on the influence of the communist party. Second, the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia was a communist, the President and Foreign Minister were not. Finally, the fact that the communists took power in Czechoslovakia by means of an armed coup sent waves of fear through the western world, causing the iron curtain to fall even further. The U.N. had its hands tied, because there were free elections (the candidates were all communist) and there was no proof of Russian involvement. While it cannot be proved that Stalin ordered the coup, the signals were clear: Stalin had likely encouraged the coup, and it was not coincidental that Russian troops in Austria were moved up to the Czech border. Czechoslovakia was the final east-west bridge, and wi th the fall of it, the iron curtain was complete. The final hostile movement of Stalin of importance was the Berlin blockade and airlift. When Russia grew dissatisfied with the economic disparity that had developed in Berlin, it responded by closing all road, rail and canal links between West Berlin and West German. The goal was to force western powers from West Berlin by reducing it to the starvation point. While the blame for the Cold War cannot be placed on a single man, Stalins expansionist policy was clearly an ever-present catalyst in the war. Certain Truman was not blameless, but the U.S. was not expanding its empire the Soviet Union was. Whether the expansion was for self-preservation, or whether it was merely imperialistic expansion, is relatively immaterial. What Stalins actions unarguably did was start a string of chain-reactions within the western powers, and therefore, a good deal of the blame must rest with him.