Sparta :: essays research papers

It's hard for textbooks to say anything nice about the Spartans. one may find that the Spartans described as "an armed camp," "brutal," "culturally stagnant," "economically stagnant," "politically stagnant," and other fun things. The reality, of course, lies somewhere behind the value judgements. In 725, the oligarchy of Sparta needed land to feed a dramatically growing population, so the Spartans went over the Taygetus mountains and took over Messenia, where a fertile plain was enough to support themselves and their newly conquered people. However, like all conquered people, the Messenians fought back in 640 BCE and almost destroyed Sparta itself. Almost defeated, the Spartans invented a new political system as dramatically revolutionary by turning their state into a military state. The Messenians were turned into agricultural slaves called helots, "serfs", where they worked small plots of land on estates owned by Spartans. There's no question that the life of the helots was a miserable life. Labor was long and hard and the helots always lived right on the border of subsistence. But Spartan society itself changed, evolving into a city-state. The state determined whether children, both male and female, were strong when they were born, leaving the weak in the hills to perish. At the age of seven, every male Spartan was sent to military and athletic school teaching discipline, endurance of pain, and survival skills. At twenty, the Spartan became a soldier spending his life with his fellow soldiers to live in barracks with his fellow soldiers. Only at the age of thirty, did the Spartan become an "equal," and was allowed to live in his own house with his own family, although he continued to serve in the military. Military service ended at the age of sixty. The life of a Spartan male was a life of discipline, self-denial, and simplicity as the Spartans viewed themselves as the true inheritors of the Greek tradition. This key to understanding the Spartans. The ideology of Sparta was oriented around the state as the individual lived (and died) for the state. Their lives were designed to serve the state from their beginning to the age of sixty. The combination of this ideology, the education of Spartan males, and the disciplined maintenance of a standing army gave the Spartans the stability that had been threatened so dramatically in the Messenean revolt. Paradoxically, this soldier-centered state was the most liberal state in regards to the status of women.

Management and Business Measurement Process Essay

Darien Walker’s approach to audit Mercedes Benz U. S. International (MBUSI) exemplifies the business measurement process method. Walker begins with a strategic analysis of her client by conducting research on the SUV market and MBUSI’s business and strategic objectives. Some important external forces in the industry include economic factors such as international oil prices, employment rate, interest rates, and inflation. Though faced with taxation and tariff complications, MBUSI enjoys a strong relationship with the state of Alabama government. The merger with Chrysler Corporation, on the other hand, poses several risks. Unionization and additional disclosures under GAAP reporting may significantly impact on the company’s operations. The elevation of competition in the SUV segment may also lead to decreased market shares of the M-Class, however, high product quality and customer satisfaction would ensure the M-Class a niche within the market. Assembly and supply chain management are MBUSI’s core business processes, and a number of controls have been placed throughout these processes to ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency. MBUSI excels in its assembly line management through collaboration with workers and suppliers, as well as establishing and monitoring of key controls. The company also enjoys a superb supply chain, mainly due to its close, integrated relationships with its suppliers. In addition, resource management processes, such as procurement and information management, are also crucial to the success of the company. From Walker’s risk-based strategic systems approach to audit MBUSI, there are two key takeaways. First, Walker’s comprehensive strategic analysis on MBUSI demonstrates that auditors must conduct extensive research about the client’s business and the environment of which it operates in. The BMP audit approach would not otherwise work if auditors fail to become familiarizedwith the business entity. An example to demonstrate this point is the fall of Enron. Due to the gas industry’s complex business nature, Enron’s financial statements tend to be vague and confusing. By further obscuring its financial statements, Enron fools its auditors through easy manipulations. In hindsight, however, if the external auditors understood Enron’s business structure and industry, they would have detected the misstatements in financial results. Finally,from MBUSI’s perspective, it is notable that the company’s integrative relationships with the employees, suppliers, and the state of Alabama government are the keys to success. MBUSI’s active engagement with these key players allows the company to leverage these relationships through its business processes to deliver â€Å"Mercedes-Benz quality† to its customers. Another company that successfully leveraged its relationships with internal and external parties is Starbucks Inc.

How can we make India clean Essay

How true these words sound in the present context. There is so much pollution all around us today that normal breathing in itself is the greatest risk to our lives. Pollution has affected our lives so adversely that because of this, millions of people die annually. The way the environment is being polluted today stands testimony to the fact that we are irresponsible occupants of this Earth and by polluting the air; we are meticulously working towards our own destruction. According to the World Health Organisation, about 2.8 million people each year die due to indoor pollution (over 500,000 occur in China alone). These data should act as an eye-opener for all of us. Smoke emitting from industries, factories, vehicles and even cigarettes is a major source of air pollution. It is due to air pollution that a number of diseases have surfaced. There are several respiratory diseases, which affect us adversely. Cigarette smoking is not injurious to the health of only those who smoke cigarett es but also to those who come in contact with the smoke emitted from the cigarettes. What is worse is that most of us understand the ill-effects of pollution, yet we are so indifferent towards our own health that we do not avoid the avoidable. Stoves, LPG and other non-conventional sources of energy should be used for cooking and the bursting of firecrackers should be reduced. Therefore, if we prevent air pollution, we not only keep ourselves healthy but also our historical monuments. Another major source of pollution today is water pollution. Water pollution is the contamination of water by sewage, toxic chemicals, metals, oils, or other substances. Diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery are the ill-effects of polluted water. The wastes that are thrown in the rivers and lakes by us mainly pollute water. It is due to this that the water supplied to us in our homes is impure and consumption of which leads to man) dreaded diseases. The biomedical waste from hospitals is not processed properly and is thrown in nearby rivers. The waste materials from factories and industries are also disposed of in the same manner. Therefore, it leads: to high levels of water pollution. Not only this, people throw dry flower used for puja and other religious functions in rivers due to which water gets badly contaminated and unfit for use. In fact, due to high levels of water po llution, marine animals die an untimely death and are on the verge of extinction today. In a healthy water system, a cycle of natural processed turns wastes into useful or harmless substances. The cycle begins when organisms called aerobic bacteria use the oxygen dissolved in water to digest wastes. This digestion process releases nitrates, phosphates an other nutrients. Algae and aquatic green plants absorb these nutrients. Zooplanktons eat the algae, and fish eat the zooplankton. The fish, in turn, may be eaten by larger fish. These larger animals come in contact with other animals and in turn the process of biological contamination cycle continues. Another form of pollution that threatens our peace today is sound pollution. It is so irksome when music is played at high volumes in parties and vehicles. Today, the levels of sound pollution are so high that the Supreme Court had to intervene and pass orders recently to impose a restriction on the playing of bands and loud music between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. The vehemence of music disturbs students, patients, old and other people we want some rest after a long day’s work. The sound of the bawling horns is a headache in itself. Everybody is in a hurry and therefore, the use of horns is made without much though Horns disrupt pe ace to the extent that these can be heard even in the ‘no-horn’ zones. Although noise does not poll the air, water, or land, but it can cause discomfort and hearing loss human beings and other animals. Soil pollution is also an important mode of pollution. When the ear thin layer of healthy, productive soil is destroyed where food is grown it is called soil erosion. Healthy soil depends on bacteria, fungi, and small animals to break down wastes in the soil and release nutrients. These nutrients help plants grow. Fertilisers and pesticides can limit the ability of soil organisms to process wastes. As a result, farmers who oven fertilizers and pesticides can destroy their soil’s productivity and are causing many diseases to the people. Not only this, even irrigation in dry areas without proper drainage system can lead to water logging in the fields. it can lead to famines because soil pollution will lead to a poor quality of soil, which in turn will lead to poor crops. Therefore, soil pollution is extremely dangerous. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to control the rising levels of any form of pollution. We must get our vehicles checked regularly and if the smoke emitting from them is higher than the normal lev el, it should be repaired. Use of firecrackers should be minimized and cigarette smoking should be given up. We must take a vow never to throw any waste materials in the rivers or lakes because that water comes back to us as drinking water. We must take an initiative to  prevent others also from doing so. Hospitals must collect their biomedical wastes and dispose of them in a proper manner. Some should be done with the waste materials from factories and industries. Recycling should be made a practice and children should be taught how to recycle simple things in school. This practice will make them to recycle things rather than throw them like garbage. The volume of our music systems should be kept low so that others are not disturbed. Even in parties these should be stopped after some time to avoid noise pollution and inconvenience to others. Thus, only when we decide to do our duty to keep our dear planet clean, we can succeed in controlling pollution. Only then we can make this world’s better place to live for you and for me’.

Leadership in and Organization

Leadership in and Organization Free Online Research Papers How do your organization’s leaders influence your organization’s culture? How does the leadership of your organization achieve organizational goals? Leadership is the practice of influence that stimulates subordinates or followers to do their best towards the achievement of desired goals. Where there is an organized group of people working towards a common goal, some type of leadership becomes essential. The leader stimulates what is best in us; he unites and concentrates what we feel only groupingly and scatteringly. An organization’s leader influences organization’s culture by building up confidence and zeal among people to move towards the common objectives. A leader influences the behavior, attitude and beliefs of his subordinates. 1.The leader should communicate effectively and follow the principle of motivation. 2.He should listen to his subordinates properly and should consult the group in framing the policies and lines of action. 3.He should implement authority whenever necessary to implement the policies. Good leadership improves motivation and morale of employees. It acts as a motive power to group efforts as it rectifies the imperfectness of the formal organizational relationships. By helping in cooperation and coordination of different departments working in an organization, good and effective leadership helps achieve organizational goals. Can someone who is a leader not be a manager? Why or why not? Can someone who is a manager not be a leader? Why or why not? A leader cannot essentially be a good manager. Because what a manager needs to have, a leader might not possess all the qualities of a good manager. A good manager has the knowledge of the organization, has technical knowledge and administrative ability to instruct and inspire. A leader can inspire people, communicate well and can even secure cooperation but without knowledge of the organization and technical knowledge, he cannot manage the complete organization effectively and efficiently. It is must for a person who is controlling an organization to have the subjective and theoretical knowledge of the work and operations that his organization performs. Moreover, leadership is only a part of management as it includes planning, organizing, leading and controlling. A manager can always be a leader because the definition of a good manager includes a good leader as well. A manager who cannot be a leader is not a good manager then. As we all know, apart from the qualities mentioned above, a manager should have the ability to instruct, inspire and finally lead. A good manager always possesses the qualities of a good leader. Since only good leadership secures effective management, a manager should be able to boost up morale of his subordinates and lead his team of workers. So, a manager can definitely be a good and effective leader. What are some skills that leaders need to possess? How can managers develop leadership skills? A successful leader secures desired behavior from his followers. It depends upon the quality of leadership he is able to provide. A leader to be effective must possess certain basic skills and qualities. Some of them are as follows: 1. Good personality 2. Emotional Stability 3. Sound education and professional competence 4. Initiatives and creative thinking 5. Good understanding and sound judgement 6. Communicating Skills 7. Ability to guide and teach. 8. Courage to accept responsibility 9. Self confidence, diligence and industry. By regular introspection of himself, his work and relations with the employees, by being in constant touch up with the colleagues, by learning from his mistakes and by experience, a manager will learn and develop his leadership skills. By listening to his employees and their innovative ideas and by appreciating their feelings, a manager can learn to be an effective leader. One another essential requirement that a good leader should always possess is honesty and integrity of character. 1.Dont use the power of your position to get things done 2.Dont think of employees as things that need to be controlled or managed 3.Judge your success by the success of your team 4.Include humour in your diet while managing people How has management changed due to the increased role of globalization? Would a good leader in one country automatically be a good leader in another country? What characteristics should a leader have to make them successful globally? The changing economic world is throwing new challenges to the managers. The management concepts and practices are shaping ‘tomorrow’s history’. A number of challenges are taking place which are influencing the work of managers. One of them is Globalization. GLOBALIZATION: Most of the countries have opened up their borders to foreign products as well as foreign producers. The companies of developed countries are foreign countries by opening manufacturing facilities there. It involves an active international involvement by the company and most importantly, the managers. Now, the change has led the management to license or franchise to another firm the right to use its brand name, technology or product specifications which ultimately has led to create great burden on the managers. Managements of global companies are adjusting their organizational structures as per the requirements of the situation. The managers are being taught to be global in approach. A good leader in one country is not automatically a good leader in another country. Even though due to universality of principles of management, a leader might not have any problems in managing people (employees). But due to changed economic, political, social and cultural environment, a manager is bound to have some problems in managing work, customers and operations. The different regulations of the political system, different taste of consumers and different standard of living is for sure are big problems for a manager to deal with. That is why companies going global prefer to hire the manager of the country that are entering their operations into since that manager will be familiar to his home markets and consumers’ tastes. Characteristic of a successful global leader are: 1.Possessing A Global Mind Growth 2.Having the Necessary Competencies, Abilities and Emphasizing Meritocracy 3.Having the Character or Ballast 4.Having Creative, Innovative and Refreshing Approaches to Solve Problems 5.Being Positive 6.Co-operating and Collaborating 7.Being Culturally Sensitive and Empathetic CONCLUSION: Leaders just have to grow their teams as companies. Organizations and nations have to look for various ways to harness knowledge and respond faster to overcome difficult times. The overall challenge here is not only to design fresh and innovative approaches, maintaining high output/ sales and high touch with both employees and customers alike, but also creating or having successful work teams/ units, resilient Companies, and successful societies. Research Papers on Leadership in and OrganizationMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesBringing Democracy to AfricaThe Project Managment Office SystemOpen Architechture a white paperMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementWhere Wild and West MeetResearch Process Part One

Victorian society Essays

Victorian society Essays Victorian society Essay Victorian society Essay In the figure of Dracula, Stoker created an image of otherness. Dracula is physically other, the dark, unconscious, the sexuality that Victorian England denied. He is also culturally other: a revenant from the ages of superstition. More significantly, he is socially other: the embodiment of all the social forces that lurked just beneath the frontiers of Victorian middle-class consciousness, everything that was socially other to the Victorian bourgeoisie. He represents all dark, foreign (i. e. non-English) races; all dark, foreign (i. e.non-bourgeois) classes; and (paradoxically) the dark, exotic aristocracy, which, though moribund, might suddenly resurge. It is otherness itself, all that bourgeois society has repudiated, that Dracula represents the psychically repressed and the socially oppressed. This is reminiscent of Kipps as he represses the shrill neigh of the pony, which represents his bestial instincts, and the screaming child who represents an age of innocence which has been lost, to preserve his business-like lawyer exterior, which ultimately returns to haunt him. The intrinsically fantastical nature of the gothic novel has always allowed it to be far more graphic in its exploration of the darker realms of the human psyche. The frequent allusions to sexuality and innuendo that were so commonplace in the gothic were very titilating, yet abstract enough to be tolerated in prudish societies of the past. The transition from a child to a sexualised adult is a gothic convention, and the genre has dared to be different by reversing typical gender roles, sometimes casting the female in the ascendancy. In contrast to other genres, sexual relations are often portrayed as corrupt and depraved in the gothic, with insinuations of paedophilia, fairly blatant homo-eroticism, for example in Dracula, rapaciousness and even incest. The gothic often explores the darker nature of human sexuality, and conveys the unspeakable and taboo aspects of sexual relationships, which perhaps explains its popularity in the sexually oppressive Victorian society.

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Term paper - Essay Example Most of the Hong Kong made films are often criticized for plagiarizing or copying the films of other cinemas such as Hollywood (Pang 74). In the case of the Fist of Fury, Bruce Lee was being accused of â€Å"having no style as style† because the film was generally patterned from the Japanese cinema style (Pang 74). Instead of using the typical Chinese kung fu style, Lee incorporated what he has learned from his â€Å"Jeet Kune Do† training (Zhuo and Cheuk 44; Eleftheriotis and Needham 111) with the use of the Japanese martial arts (Pang 74). In the process of integrating different kung fu style, Lee somehow managed to come up with his own kung fu style. Specifically in the movie Fist of Fury, Bruce Lee played the role of Chen Zhen. As compared to Jackie Chan’s kung fu style, Lee’s kung fu style was more serious as always. This is mainly because the kind of films that Bruce Lee makes are mostly action ones (Mennel 90; You Tube b). Bruce Lee is known for his fast reflex when doing his kung fu movements. This can be seen in the film when he tried to fight on behalf of his co-workers who were engaged in the fight with the top management’s security personnel (You Tube b 45:31). During the actual production, Bruce Lee encountered some communication problem with some of the extra. Back then, Lee had to find somebody to translate his instructions (Black Belt 26). This is probably true because Bruce Lee has been working with people with different cultural background. When doing martial arts film, it is difficult on the part of the actor to control his movements without literally hurting the extra when filming a stunt. To create a more realistic action film, the actors should pay attention to the timing of their actions. Instead of hurting himself from doing kung fu acts, Bruce Lee was the one who is causing more physical injuries and fracture to those extras. For instance, when Bruce Lee had to kick the extra during the set, he had a hard time controlling the force

A report regarding the attractiveness of alternative countries Research Paper

A report regarding the attractiveness of alternative countries - Research Paper Example China is a country with where cheap labor is easily available giving a cost advantage to the companies investing. (Diego Quer, 2008) Moreover, China is largely a buyer’s market keeping in mind the country’s population of 1.3 billion people. And with time there is an expectation that the purchasing power of Chinese residents is likely to increase sharply because of the lower rates of inflation and a good annual GDP growth rate of 8 % for the country. To top it all China’s government recently has eased down the regulations and laws concerning foreign investment in China. As a result of these incentives a lot of companies invested in China and as according to research FDI flows into china were of about 83.5 billion dollars which grew to 108.3 billion in 2008 with continued investment announcements and a positive investor outlook. (Jianhong Qi, 2008) The trend of FDI in China has changed since 2001 after it joined WTO. Since then until now foreign investors who have invested in China have formed companies entirely owned by foreign capital. Other than industry and hi-tech foreign investment is also allowed in the financial services, insurance and banking sectors.