Motivation and Siemens Essay Example

Motivation and Siemens Essay Question 4: How does a company like Siemens benefit from the use of motivation theories to influence its management style and strategies? Understanding of motivation theories can play a very important role in influencing the management style and strategies of a large corporation like Siemens. These theories help companies to develop and implement effective policies and strategies for attracting right types of people needed by them to man the organization, to retain them in the organization and to motivate them to put their best efforts towards achievement of the organizational objectives. A motivated employees is someone that works hard because they feel fulfilled and happy in the workplace and likely to be more productive. The structure of Siemens motivates individuals by empowering them to improve processes. Siemens provides the sort of environment where workers can learn new things and are given the opportunity to progress within the business. This culture demonstrates that Siemens values its employees and help to recruit the next generation of engineers. Siemens employees have the value that they are allowed to be imaginative and can influence their own work. A motivated workforce puts more energy into work in order to achieve the required outcomes. Motivated employees feel that their work is special and they are encouraged to take pride in what they do. It’s shown that there is low absenteeism because employees are happy to go to work. Individuals are more loyal to the organization and stay longer because their needs are being met. It also determines the kind of compensation schemes the company has. It also helps companies to design its jobs that provide maximum job satisfaction to the employees. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Siemens specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Siemens specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Siemens specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Communication Protocols essays

Communication Protocols essays Differences in Communication Protocols Telecommunications is the electronic sharing of information. The information shared may take the forms of audio, data, or video. Technologies for communicating information include traditional telephones, wireless cellular technologies, and networked computers. This paper will cover highlights of historical telecommunications technologies, present telecommunications systems, and future telecommunications technologies. Telecommunications spans diverse physical media and transmission protocols. This section presents currently used technologies. Advantages and disadvantages of each technology are described in detail. Table 3 shows the comparative bandwidth available for each of these technologies, ranging from 56 kbps to 100 Mbps. Table 3. COMPARATIVE BANDWIDTHS. This table summarizes approximate theoretical data bandwidths, as gathered from the references. These numbers should not be taken as absolutes; the following text should supplement the numbers. The Plain Old Telephone System, also known as POTS, is the most widespread and lowest cost telecommunications technology available today. Since it was designed to carry voice conversations, the telephone companies placed a restriction on the amount of information needed to accurately reproduce voice. First of all, they determined that spoken conversations rarely exceed 4 kHz in frequency (8 kHz sampled); music, however, does involve higher frequencies, up to the 20 kHz detectable by the human ear. By bandwidth limiting telephone conversations to 8 kHz, the telephone companies could multiplex multiple conversations on a single communications channel. This made the telephone companies' infrastructures more cost-effective. Since voice is analog (i.e. varying, not discrete) in nature, a telephone conversation is transmitted as an analog waveform from a standard telephone to the central office. The conversation is then converted to digital for...

Modernist Art - A New Approach in Theatre Essay

Modernist Art - A New Approach in Theatre - Essay Example The essay "Modernist Art - A New Approach in Theatre" focuses on modern era and art. Modernity can be understood as a conceptual framework of individual expression at the same time that it can be considered a reflection of society as a whole. This suggests that it is comprised of intellectual ideas as well as by the development of new processes, techniques and materials. Modernity has been described as the â€Å"dialectical relationship ... which modernism consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, positively or negatively reflects the effects of capitalist development.† The modernist ideology is thus revealed to have a number of different contexts bound together and interacting with our social understandings contributing to our intuitive and overt sense and understanding of the world around us. With the arrival of modernism, the realism and humanism of earlier periods melts away as performing artists focus more upon style, technique and spatial form in an attempt t o find a deeper expression of human experience, such as is seen in the ‘radical theatre’ approach taken by Peter Brook. The use of the word ‘radical’ in modern is deliberate when it comes to Brook’s theater. The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines the adjective as â€Å"believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social or political change† and the noun in terms of â€Å"a person who supports great social and political change.† Toni Sant claims â€Å"radical theatre aims to make extreme changes...".

Ambassador Theatre Group Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ambassador Theatre Group - Research Paper Example The theatre was founded by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire in the year 1992 the couple has marvelous history of enthusiastic pursuits.   Sir Eddie Kulukundis is the life president of the group and has enormous contributions towards the revival of the art and entertainment industry in Britain. The love of the creative art was the driving force behind the concept of a fanatic couple, â€Å"Seventeen years ago a pair of theatre obsessive went into business together to build a theatre in Woking.† (Hoyle 2009). The theatre has now developed into a matchless huge corporation that operates worldwide from a mere innovation of two ambitious art lovers.The group not only successfully retain the successes achieved in the early years of the company but has shown a great caliber to build upon these early success Ashton (2009) has noted the same, â€Å"ATG, set up in 1992 by husband and wife team Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, will dominate London’s West End, managing more t han 11,000 theatre seats.† Beyond this success story, the Ambassador Theatre Groups has an unparallel symbolic significance for art lovers to work hard and achieve the heights that Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire had never dreamed. The ATG group business is operating in several sector of the industry including the media production, theatre management and ticketing etc. The group achieved the stature of single largest theatre group from scratch as Nighingale states â€Å"That’s the challenge for Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire".

Humana Insurance Hispanic Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Humana Insurance Hispanic Market - Essay Example Speaking of various backgrounds, Humana is also servicing the individuals or customers from varied ethnic backgrounds including the Hispanics. With Hispanics constituting a sizable portion of the population in US, organizations operating in various sectors including the ones in the Insurance sector like Humana are giving extra focus to this section of the population. Although, Humana is carrying out customer friendly strategies in regards to Hispanics, specifically the strategy of localization or customization, when viewed in an overall manner, it is not doing it effectively, and so if it can optimize or improve that strategy, it can give Humana the competitive advantage in relation to the Hispanics Market. According to US Census Bureau, more than 50 million Hispanics currently live in the United States, comprising about 17 percent of the total U.S. population. (Black, 2013). Although, Hispanics are a varied ethnic population, differing in the aspects of country of origin, race, etc., they speak the common language of Spanish. Their population is on the rise and that is making impacts on the health sector as well. â€Å"They are the fastest growing racial or ethnic population in the United States today and are expected to comprise approximately 30 percent of the total US population by 2050.† (Black, 2013). Despite witnessing fast growing rates, the Hispanics continue to face discrepancies regarding health coverage as well as care, thereby making them â€Å"the highest uninsured rate among racial/ethnic groups, with nearly one in three lacking coverage† (Black, 2013). These facts about the Hispanics, apart from reflecting how they are not completely covered under insurance , also brings out the key point of how they are a strong prospective customer base for the insurance companies including Humana. In that direction, Humana has

Communication In The Hospitality And Tourism Industry Communications Essay

Communication In The Hospitality And Tourism Industry Communications Essay Communication is the most important and the most used of all skills in the hospitality and tourism industry. Managers spend the largest portion of their time in verbal or written communications with their employees or outside parties. Other staff member communicate among themselves , as well as their managers, frontline employees suppliers, and so on, to give and receive the information they need to perform their jobs. Communication has been recognized as the means by which both and people and the organization survive. When human beings lack the ability to cope with life, the source of the problem is often a lack of appropriate information. Incomplete and unorganized information place a heavy strain on the ability of people to make sense out of their existence. Their performance of a job depends on having necessary information, having the skills to do a job depends on the quality of communication during the skills acquisition period. Applying the definition of communication to this process, the role of the transmitter is to impart information, ideas, or feeling to another person. Encoding is the process by which information is organized into symbols, such as word, picture or gestures that can be conveyed to receiver. The transmitter subsequently uses a selected form of communication such as writing, speaking, faxing, gesturing, painting or advertising to impart the ancoded message too receiver. The receiver is the person or group of person to whom the message is being sent by the trasmitter. In the communication process, it is the responsibility of the receiver receive and decode the message. Decoding is the reverse of encoding. It is the process by which the symbols that the transmitter has conveyed to the receiver are interpreted and translated into meaninfullinformation. It is only after decoding that the receiver can respond to the perceived message. It is important to note that there are certain times during the communication cation process at which communication failures can readily occur. First, if the transmitter is not carefull during the encoding process, he may incorrectly encode the information, ideas, or feelings he intends to transmit. This would result in his transmitting an inaccurate message. The thing which usually happens are such as the message received by the last person in line differs markedly from the orginal phase. The primary reason for this discrepancy is that the massage has gone through many transmulations as it has been encoded and by each person in the line. Communication failure can also accur if a message does not reach the receive. It may reach no one or the actual receiver of the message may not be the person for whom the message was intended. However with this form of communication, there is no way to ensure this is the case. As stated earlier, how best to reach the intended receiver is an important consideration in selecting a form of communication for a particular message. Another potential source of trouble in the communication process is noise. Noise refers to any sort of distraction or interference that prevents the accurate transmitter and reception and reception of message. Three distinct types of noise have been identified such as external noise, physiological noise and psychological noise. External noise is any distraction or interference whose source is outside of the receiver. Physiological noise is interference caused by a biological factor such as loss of sight or hearing. Psychological noise refers to forces that eithe r cause a tranmitter to improperly encode a message or receiver to incorrectly decode a message. The frontline employees as the most important link between a company and its customer is a crucial first step in developing and implementing effective communication systems. The frontline employees have to ensure that they are fully aware of company policies and priorities insofar as they affect the job the employees are doing, they also have to know where and how to obtain information if required. The employees also have to react positively to the unexpected. They also have be confidence that management will support their reasonable action. They should know that reasonable suggestions will be acted upon. The staff also should be fully trained to carry out all of their job responsibilities. While communication with customers can be winning business strategy in the service sector. Repeating business can only ensure his customer keep coming back. Example of the communication process are (Transmitter Message Receiver). Conclusion Effective communication system are crucial to the success of organization in the hospitality and tourism industry. Without feedback from the customer and employees, it is imposible to assess the needs of consumers Question 2 Motivation is the key to keeping performing continuosly at the is highest standards. How organization motivate their employees to excel at their jobs. Introduction a vital managerial function in any organization is to motivate employees. This is because motivation is inextricably linked to employees satisfaction and ensures employees consistently excel at their jobs. Motivation is especially important in the hospitality and tourism industry, where employees satisfaction and competence are key determinants of service quality. Answer 2 For a company to succeed, it is necessary for employees to be competent, for the company to be organized in efficient ways, for the firm to provide the employees with necessary materials and resource to do the job, and for employees to have a desire to do their best. Motivation plays a major role in achieving high performance in the workplace, which is an important goal of management. However, just because an employees is motivated does not guarantee she will perform satisfactorily. Form the individuals perspective the desire to do well in ones work is primarily linked to ones desire to meet an internalized personal need. In other words, by engaging in certain behaviors the employee expects to meet some internal need. From an organizational perspective, an effective firm is a productive firm when it stimulates all its employees to behave in the manner desired by the organization, directs their behavior to accomplish the goals of the organization and develops programs to maintain the desired levels of performance. Example: (Ability + Direction + Motivation + Support = Effective Performance) A person might be motivated to work because she needs to earn money to buy food or shelter. Process theories, in contrast, describe how the individuals become motivated in the first time. A number of strategies for motivating employees are also discussed. At the group level, the Hawthorne effect is explained and at the organizational level, job enrichment and design and the Scanlon plan are reviewed. Individuals have a variety of needs they seek to satisfy. Several theories of motivation address the role needs play in stimulating behavior. Though motivational theories may stress different factors, they reveal a case regardless of whether the rewards is intrinsic. However a persons physical safety was suddenly threatened an angry customer threatened a hotel clerk with physical violence. This process would reoccur as event and conditions in the individuals life changed. A common error of manager is to attempt to motivate employees by addressing an unmet need that is a projection of the managers rather than the employees need. This is illustrated in the following examples. A manager of a travel agency had an employees who was not able to sell the companys service in a proficient manner. Employees need to developed and thus motivation are acquired, as people interact with their environment. Examples: (Achievement, Power, Affiliation) People with a high need for achiement tend to take personal responsibility for solving problems, be a goal oriented, set moderate, realistic, attainable goals, seek challenges, excellence, and individuality and take calculated, moderated risk. Some people with high need for achiement think about ways to do a better job. People need high power for to control the situation, want to influence or control over others, enjoy competition in which they can win, be willing to confront others. People with high need for affiliation seek close relationship with others, want to be liked by others, enjoy lots of social activities. As a part of a team some people desire satisfaction from other people, whom they work rather than from the task itself. Some gives allots of praise and recognition, delegate responsibility for orienting and training new employees to them. Motivation and individuals performance, is to improve towards work that can contribute significantly to improved performance. This implies that managers should be sensitive to individual different because what motivates one individual may not motivate another. Motivation and the work group establishing effective and productive work groups. It has been well established that employees behavior is affected by individuals needs. Organization need motivated employees to carry out the business of the firm and to ensure that organizational goals are achieved. Because of the crucial role motivation plays in individual and group performance, organizations must establish systems or programs to motivate their employees. Job enrichment which refers to the vertical expansion of jobs, raise motivation by making work more interesting and challenging for employees. Worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of his or her job. Complete activity, increases the employees freedom and independence, increases responsibility, and provides feedback. Job redesign is essentially the of doing it better by doing it differently. Experts can use time and motion to determine the way they should be done. Managers, who supervise the job, can suggest improvement based observed shortcoming in current job procedures. Knowledgeable about their jobs, can devise new and better ways to carry out their work. Conclusion Motivation refers to employees, which willing to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goal in the expectation that doing so will enable them to satisfy some individual need. Motivation is a necessary, but by itself not a sufficient, condition of effective performance. Manager should ensure that the reward system is perceived by employees as being fair. Bibliography -Human resource management in the hospitality industry. John Wiley sons, inc Hospitality industry OR Management. publisher- DAnnunzio-Green, Norma Table of content Question 1 Introduction Answer 1 Conclusion Question 2 Answer 2 Conclusion

American Society Needs Affirmative Action Essay examples -- argumentat

American Society Needs Affirmative Action      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Affirmative action has been the subject of increasing debate and tension in American society. However, the debate over affirmative action has become ensnared in rhetoric that pits equality of opportunity against the equality of results. The debate has been more emotional than intellectual, and has generated more tension than shed light on the issue. Participants in the debate have over examined the ethical and moral issues that affirmative action raises while forgetting to scrutinize the system that has created the need for them. Too often, affirmative action is looked upon as the panacea for a nation once ill with, but now cured of, the virulent disease of racial discrimination. Affirmative action is, and should be seen as, a temporary, partial, and perhaps even flawed remedy for past and continuing discrimination against historically marginalized and disenfranchised groups in American society. Working as it should, it affords groups greater equality of opportunity in a social context marked by substantial inequalities and structural forces that impede a fair assessment of their capabilities. In this essay I will expose what I see as the shortcomings of the current ethical attacks on affirmative action (1), the main one being, that these attacks are devoid of proper historical context and shrouded in white male hegemony and privilege. Then, I will discuss the moral and ethical issues raised by continuing to function within a system that systematically disadvantages historically marginalized groups. With that as a backdrop, I will make a positive case for continuing affirmative action programs and discuss the practic... ...ainly valid, qualifications to the table that are not recognized under our current system of merit. Notes: 1. While it is true that Affirmative action programs address the concerns of a wide range of Americans who confront discrimination, the debate is often understood to be about race; and specifically Black Americans. For that reason the emphasis of my essay will be on affirmative action programs that involve Black Americans. 2. Since I have narrowed my discussion of Affirmative action to that bestowed to a specific racial group, it is imperative that I give my understanding of what "race" is. I am writing this essay with the understanding that race is not an immutable biological category or characteristic but rather a social construction. In America, race was constructed and employed to preserve white privilege while simultaneously oppressing Blacks.

Final Paper

Cost is flexible in hosing the kind of product to sell in different country, so that those products can meet the right demand of the customers from that particular country. Going global is a big decision, so Cost must take close observations into many different countries and those markets before deciding the best country operate its business. Location is considered as one of the crucial factors that lead to a business's success. The business should consider any tangible or intangible costs, political or climate risks, and the proximity to suppliers.There are four methods to choose a location: factor rating, location break- even analysis, center of gravity, and transportation model. In this case, I feel like Cost has applied the center of gravity method, which means finding a location of the single distribution center serving several destinations. Cost is operating as a warehouse or retailer, so it definitely wants to find the location that is near to households and other types of bus inesses. In that way, it can act as the main source of distribution to other businesses.Besides carrying variety kinds of products, Cost also has great services in different areas. Some of them are auto program, health and dental plans, payroll services, boat and REV loans, mortgage purchase and refinancing, etc. These services are very benefiting for customers' daily life. With the hope of keep growing and improving, Cost really value customers' feedback on any kind of service that they provided. Cost always wants to bring the best services and high quality products to its customers.Cost truly value quality because it always wants to bring the best things its customers. Every product that is delivered to Cost warehouses needs to go through a quality checking yester. Everything includes groceries, appliances, automotive supplies, tires, toys, hardware, jewelry, electronics, books, clothes, health and beauty aids, tobacco, wines, furniture. Cost is known for carrying top quality nati onal and regional brands, with a hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed, at prices consistently below traditional wholesale or retail outlets.When having quality as the top thing in the list, Cost must ensure that it has an efficient inventory management system. Managing inventory is important because it keeps track of the number of inventory need of everyday, reduce the shrinkage, and avoid out of stock situation. Just-in-time (IT) is a Japanese term that describes the method of inventory control to help increase efficiency and reduce costs by receiving goods only as needed. The method requires the producers must be able to accurately forecast the demand. Cost is applying this very well.The inventory is well managed; out- of-stock and shrinkage has never a problem to Cost, because it acts as a store and also a warehouse; therefore it can hold the goods for long. Some businesses also choose Cost as their supplier, so they will buy in bulk at the rower price. Cost is not only good a t managing inventory, but it also has a great supply chain management strategy. What Cost does is sharing detailed inventory and sales data with its brand suppliers. These suppliers, in turn, are responsible for stocking the product on Cost's shelves.This helps to eliminate the potential for a bullwhip to develop as suppliers can make accurate orders to refill the stock. Cost is incentive to provide timely, accurate data to its suppliers and suppliers are persuaded to reorder appropriate quantities of Cost. Additionally, both companies benefit by avian a more reliable system to keep products on shelves for consumers. Every business needs an appropriate process design so that it can meet the customers' requirements within the cost constraints.Among the five transformational systems -? job shop, flow shop, product focused, main customization, and project focused, Cost belongs to the product focused system. This means there are more standardized products, with high volumes, but it shou ld keep a consistent quality, and emphasizes on low cost. Products and services play an important role in an organization, but we just never forget the workforce is also an essential factor. Human resources department (HER) is where the business recruiting and training its employees.In 2006, Cost had 71 ,OHO full-time employees and 56,000 part-time employees; and I believe these numbers have increased a lot since then. When hiring new employees, Cost should give some sort of job specialization to everyone, which describes the requirements of certain position that Cost is offering, and a little information on the salary. From that, the people who find he/she is fitting in certain qualifications will apply or the position. Cost is one of a few retailers that pay and treat well to its employees.According to Jim Senegal, â€Å"having a well-compensated workforce was very important to executing Cost's strategy successfully. † By providing many benefits to the employees, it also br ings Cost a significant advantage, because everyone knows that Cost pay the highest wage, and also a retailer that treats employees nicely and fairly. Besides paying high wages, Cost also provide many sources of motivation to its employees, such as awards ND bonuses; in order to make the job becomes more interesting, Cost should change its motivation regularly. Final Paper Cost is flexible in hosing the kind of product to sell in different country, so that those products can meet the right demand of the customers from that particular country. Going global is a big decision, so Cost must take close observations into many different countries and those markets before deciding the best country operate its business. Location is considered as one of the crucial factors that lead to a business's success. The business should consider any tangible or intangible costs, political or climate risks, and the proximity to suppliers.There are four methods to choose a location: factor rating, location break- even analysis, center of gravity, and transportation model. In this case, I feel like Cost has applied the center of gravity method, which means finding a location of the single distribution center serving several destinations. Cost is operating as a warehouse or retailer, so it definitely wants to find the location that is near to households and other types of bus inesses. In that way, it can act as the main source of distribution to other businesses.Besides carrying variety kinds of products, Cost also has great services in different areas. Some of them are auto program, health and dental plans, payroll services, boat and REV loans, mortgage purchase and refinancing, etc. These services are very benefiting for customers' daily life. With the hope of keep growing and improving, Cost really value customers' feedback on any kind of service that they provided. Cost always wants to bring the best services and high quality products to its customers.Cost truly value quality because it always wants to bring the best things its customers. Every product that is delivered to Cost warehouses needs to go through a quality checking yester. Everything includes groceries, appliances, automotive supplies, tires, toys, hardware, jewelry, electronics, books, clothes, health and beauty aids, tobacco, wines, furniture. Cost is known for carrying top quality nati onal and regional brands, with a hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed, at prices consistently below traditional wholesale or retail outlets.When having quality as the top thing in the list, Cost must ensure that it has an efficient inventory management system. Managing inventory is important because it keeps track of the number of inventory need of everyday, reduce the shrinkage, and avoid out of stock situation. Just-in-time (IT) is a Japanese term that describes the method of inventory control to help increase efficiency and reduce costs by receiving goods only as needed. The method requires the producers must be able to accurately forecast the demand. Cost is applying this very well.The inventory is well managed; out- of-stock and shrinkage has never a problem to Cost, because it acts as a store and also a warehouse; therefore it can hold the goods for long. Some businesses also choose Cost as their supplier, so they will buy in bulk at the rower price. Cost is not only good a t managing inventory, but it also has a great supply chain management strategy. What Cost does is sharing detailed inventory and sales data with its brand suppliers. These suppliers, in turn, are responsible for stocking the product on Cost's shelves.This helps to eliminate the potential for a bullwhip to develop as suppliers can make accurate orders to refill the stock. Cost is incentive to provide timely, accurate data to its suppliers and suppliers are persuaded to reorder appropriate quantities of Cost. Additionally, both companies benefit by avian a more reliable system to keep products on shelves for consumers. Every business needs an appropriate process design so that it can meet the customers' requirements within the cost constraints.Among the five transformational systems -? job shop, flow shop, product focused, main customization, and project focused, Cost belongs to the product focused system. This means there are more standardized products, with high volumes, but it shou ld keep a consistent quality, and emphasizes on low cost. Products and services play an important role in an organization, but we just never forget the workforce is also an essential factor. Human resources department (HER) is where the business recruiting and training its employees.In 2006, Cost had 71 ,OHO full-time employees and 56,000 part-time employees; and I believe these numbers have increased a lot since then. When hiring new employees, Cost should give some sort of job specialization to everyone, which describes the requirements of certain position that Cost is offering, and a little information on the salary. From that, the people who find he/she is fitting in certain qualifications will apply or the position. Cost is one of a few retailers that pay and treat well to its employees.According to Jim Senegal, â€Å"having a well-compensated workforce was very important to executing Cost's strategy successfully. † By providing many benefits to the employees, it also br ings Cost a significant advantage, because everyone knows that Cost pay the highest wage, and also a retailer that treats employees nicely and fairly. Besides paying high wages, Cost also provide many sources of motivation to its employees, such as awards ND bonuses; in order to make the job becomes more interesting, Cost should change its motivation regularly.

Free Essays on The Fall of the House Of Usher

Poe uses the imagery and the life-like characteristics of an otherwise decaying house as a device for giving the house a supernatural atmosphere. For example, from the very beginning of the story, the reader can tell that there is something unusual and almost supernatural about the building. As the narrator approaches the home of his long-time friend, Roderick Usher, he refers to the house as the â€Å"melancholy House of Usher†(1508). Upon looking at the building, he even describes the feeling he has as â€Å"a sense of insufferable gloom pervading my spirit†(1508). The windows appear to be â€Å"vacant,† and â€Å"eye-like† and the narrator goes on to observe the â€Å"rank sedges,† and the â€Å"black and lurid tarn,†(1509) in which he sees the reflection of the house. He later says, â€Å"when I again uplifted my eyes to the house itself, from its image in the pool, there grew a strange fancy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1509). This statement indicates that perhaps the house does indeed have supernatural characteristic. The narrator ! observes the details of the house once more and finds that the house has fungi growing all over it and the masonry of the building is decaying. He says, â€Å" there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts, and the utterly porous, and evidently decayed condition of the individual stones†(1510). This observation suggests that perhaps something supernatural is holding the house intact; otherwise it would have fallen to the ground long ago. Upon entering the house, the narrator sees the inside of the house as well as the odd behavior and personality of its inhabitants and is increasingly convinced that the house has some supernatural effect on those who live there. Upon meeting Usher, the narrator remarks, â€Å"†¦the physique of the gray walls and the turrets, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence† (1512). The narrat... Free Essays on The Fall of the House of Usher Free Essays on The Fall of the House of Usher The Doom of Usher’s House The human mind naturally receives images of the frightening or even appalling. In the tale â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator is brought into an eerie world â€Å"DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn† (204). The setting of this world inspires devastation for Roderick Usher and his twin sister, Madeline. This sense of doom shows throughout the House of Usher, the interior and exterior of the house, the landscape surrounding the mansion, and the strange tempestuous atmosphere of the house. The House of Usher generates a sense of doom by its appearance as the narrator approaches. â€Å"The vacant and eye-like windows† of the manor first give the impression that the house is a large face. A minute fungus overspreads the whole exterior, hanging like web-work from the attic. The narrator can also see a barely distinguishable crack extending from the roof down into the pond. As the narrator crosses the threshold of the house into the gothic archway, he sees carvings on the ceiling, gloomy tapestries hanging on the walls, â€Å"ebon blackness of the floors, and large phantasmagoric armorial trophies. The rooms are very large and lofty, the general furniture profuse, comfortless, antique, and dilapidated† (205). Paintings hanging on the walls give the narrator a shudder every time he views the depressive scenarios. There is also a vault at a great depth below the mansion, a portion of the vaults floor and the whole interior of the long archway are sheathed with copper, the chamber is very small, damp, and entirely without means of admission for light. Even the door is made of massive iron and placed on great hinges that grind and make an awful noise as the narrator and Roderick open it. The landscape around the mansion is doomed, which leads to the land being full of sadness and decay. The house appears on a landscape of â€Å"a few rank sedges and u... Free Essays on The Fall Of The House Of Usher Poe uses the imagery and the life-like characteristics of an otherwise decaying house as a device for giving the house a supernatural atmosphere. For example, from the very beginning of the story, the reader can tell that there is something unusual and almost supernatural about the building. As the narrator approaches the home of his long-time friend, Roderick Usher, he refers to the house as the â€Å"melancholy House of Usher†(1508). Upon looking at the building, he even describes the feeling he has as â€Å"a sense of insufferable gloom pervading my spirit†(1508). The windows appear to be â€Å"vacant,† and â€Å"eye-like† and the narrator goes on to observe the â€Å"rank sedges,† and the â€Å"black and lurid tarn,†(1509) in which he sees the reflection of the house. He later says, â€Å"when I again uplifted my eyes to the house itself, from its image in the pool, there grew a strange fancy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1509). This statement indicates that perhaps the house does indeed have supernatural characteristic. The narrator ! observes the details of the house once more and finds that the house has fungi growing all over it and the masonry of the building is decaying. He says, â€Å" there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts, and the utterly porous, and evidently decayed condition of the individual stones†(1510). This observation suggests that perhaps something supernatural is holding the house intact; otherwise it would have fallen to the ground long ago. Upon entering the house, the narrator sees the inside of the house as well as the odd behavior and personality of its inhabitants and is increasingly convinced that the house has some supernatural effect on those who live there. Upon meeting Usher, the narrator remarks, â€Å"†¦the physique of the gray walls and the turrets, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence† (1512). The narrat... Free Essays on The Fall of the House Of Usher One of the core themes of the short story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†, is that of the nature of the house itself. The manner it is described and the way it is so puzzling. Another main theme of this tale is the nature of the people that reside in the dwelling. They are described in nearly the same manner all through the narrative. In that way, they have several things in common with one other. What is clearly similar about the way all these things are refered to is the sense of a bad feeling, of dread, showing how bad things are for the people and the house. These similarities are laid out extremely well in the story and I believe they are meant be strongly considered when reading it. At the start of the tale there is a very negative feeling being connected to the appearance of the house. Poe especially uses a couple of tactics to try and make you feel negatively about the house. He used phrases such as: â€Å"insufferable gloom,† â€Å"vacant,† â€Å"black and lurid,† and the â€Å"rank sedges.† These are obviously meant to convey a bad connotation to the house. Poe writes that the house has a â€Å"wild inconsistency† and describes that each individual stone is starting to decay and fall apart. This suggests that the house has many problems that could possibly lead to the destruction of a house. Its hard to pick up this as foreshadowing, but as the reader continues the story it becomes clearer and clearer. The house has a kind of gothic feeling to it. Another common word used in describing the house is ghostly. The story is lined with phrases such as, â€Å"through many dark and intricate passages† and â€Å"ebon blackn ess† which also set the sense of darkness. They all set up the idea that some frightful event is going to take place soon. These devices, along with a some others, help to connect the house to Roderick and Lady Madeline. When the speaker first sees Roderick after a long interval of time, he remarks that he resemb...

Biography of John Riley - Saint Patricks Battalion

Biography of John Riley - Saint Patricks Battalion John Riley (Circa 1805-1850) was an Irish soldier who deserted the American army just before the outbreak of the Mexican-American War. He joined the Mexican army and founded the St. Patricks Battalion, a force made up of fellow deserters, primarily Irish and German Catholics. Riley and the others deserted because treatment of foreigners in the US army was very harsh and because they felt that their allegiance was more with Catholic Mexico than Protestant USA. Riley fought with distinction for the Mexican army and survived the war only to die in obscurity. Early Life and Military Career Riley was born in County Galway, Ireland sometime between 1805 and 1818. Ireland was a very poor country at the time and was hit hard even before the great famines began around 1845. Like many Irish, Riley made his way to Canada, where he likely served in a British army regiment. Moving to Michigan, he enlisted in the US army before the Mexican-American War. When sent to Texas, Riley deserted to Mexico on April 12, 1846, before the war officially broke out. Like other deserters, he was welcomed and invited to serve in the Legion of Foreigners which saw action in the bombardment of Fort Texas and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. The Saint Patricks Battalion By April of 1846, Riley had been promoted to Lieutenant and had organized a unit comprised of 48 Irishmen who joined the Mexican army. More and more deserters came over from the American side and by August of 1846, he had over 200 men in his battalion. The unit was named el Batallà ³n de San Patricio, or the St. Patricks Battalion, in honor of Irelands patron saint. They marched under a green banner with an image of St. Patrick on one side and a harp and emblem of Mexico on the other. As many of them were skilled artillerymen, they were assigned as an elite artillery regiment. Why Did the San Patricios Defect? During the Mexican-American War, thousands of men deserted on both sides: conditions were harsh and more men died of illness and exposure than in combat. Life in the US army was particularly tough on Irish Catholics: they were seen as lazy, ignorant and foolish. They were given dirty and dangerous jobs and promotions were virtually non-existent. Those who joined the enemy side most likely did so because of the promises of land and money and out of loyalty to Catholicism: Mexico, like Ireland, is a Catholic nation. The St. Patrick’s Battalion was comprised of foreigners, mainly Irish Catholics. There were some German Catholics as well, and some foreigners who lived in Mexico before the war. The Saint Patricks in Action in Northern Mexico The St. Patricks Battalion saw limited action at the siege of Monterrey, as they were stationed in a massive fortress that American General Zachary Taylor decided to avoid entirely. At the Battle of Buena Vista, however, they played a major role. They were stationed alongside the main road on a plateau where the main Mexican assault took place. They won an artillery duel with an American unit and even made off with some American cannons. When Mexican defeat was imminent, they helped cover the retreat. Several San Patricios won a Cross of Honor medal for valor during the battle, including Riley, who was also promoted to captain. The San Patricios in Mexico City After the Americans opened another front, the San Patricios accompanied Mexican General Santa Anna to the east of Mexico City. They saw action at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, although their role in that battle has been largely lost to history. It was at the Battle of Chapultepec that ​they made a name for themselves. As the Americans attacked Mexico City, the Battalion was stationed at one end of a key bridge and in a nearby convent. They held the bridge and convent for hours against superior troops and weapons. When Mexicans in the convent tried to surrender, the San Patricios tore down the white flag three times. They were eventually overwhelmed once they ran out of ammunition. Most of the San Patricios were killed or captured at the Battle of Churubusco, ending its effective life as a unit, although it would re-form after the war with the survivors and last for about another year. Capture and Punishment Riley was among the 85 San Patricios captured during the battle. They were court-martialed and most of them were found guilty of desertion. Between September 10 and 13, 1847, fifty of them would be hanged in punishment for their defection to the other side. Riley, although he was the highest-profile among them, was not hanged: he had defected before the war had officially been declared, and such defection in peacetime was by definition a far less serious offense. Still, Riley, by then a major and highest ranking foreign officer of the San Patricios (the Battalion had Mexican commanding officers), was punished harshly. His head was shaved, he was given fifty lashes (witnesses say the count was botched and that Riley actually received 59), and he was branded with a D (for deserter) on his cheek. When the brand was at first put on upside down, he was re-branded on the other cheek. After that, he was thrown in a dungeon for the duration of the war, which lasted several more months. In spite of this harsh punishment, there were those in the American army who felt he should have been hanged with the others. After the war, Riley and the others were released and re-formed the St. Patricks Battalion. The unit soon became embroiled in the constant infighting among Mexican officials and Riley was briefly jailed for suspicion of participation in an uprising, but he was freed. Records indicating that a Juan Riley died on August 31, 1850, were once believed to refer to him, but new evidence indicates that this is not the case. Efforts are ongoing to determine Rileys true fate: Dr. Michael Hogan (who has written the definitive texts about the San Patricios) writes The search for the burial place of the true John Riley, Mexican major, a decorated hero, and leader of the Irish battalion, must continue. The Legacy   To Americans, Riley is a deserter and a traitor: the lowest of the low. To Mexicans, however, Riley is a great hero: a skilled soldier who followed his conscience and joined the enemy because he thought it was the right thing to do. The St. Patricks Battalion has a place of great honor in Mexican history: there are streets named for it, memorial plaques where they fought, postage stamps, etc. Riley is the name most commonly associated with the Battalion, and he has, therefore, gained extra heroic status for Mexicans, who have erected a statue of him in his birthplace of Clifden, Ireland. The Irish have returned the favor, and there is a bust of Riley now in the San Angel Plaza, courtesy of Ireland. Americans of Irish descent, who once disowned Riley and the Battalion, have warmed to them in recent years: perhaps in part due to a couple of good books that have come out recently. Also, there was a major Hollywood production in 1999 entitled One Mans Hero based (very loosely) on the life of Riley and the Battalion. Sources Hogan, Michael. The Irish Soldiers of Mexico. Paperback, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, May 25, 2011. Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: Americas Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2007.

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

Political Science - Essay Example In the United States of America, most of the decisions made by the court have involved civil liberties or human rights. In 1964, a civil rights act was enacted which restricted employment discrimination based on a person’s sex, religion, race, or color. The act provides that a person has a right to sue anybody who infringes on his or her rights or conspire to rob others of their civil rights. In education, the Supreme Court denounced discrimination of any form in terms of color or race in all public schools. This matter was included into the constitution under Equal Protection Clause in the 14th amendment of the constitution. The court held that segregating African American students made them inferior which in turn limited their opportunities to excel in life. For example, in the case between Brown versus Board of Education, the Supreme Court denounced racial discrimination as illegal. Therefore, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that all schools be desegregated. This direc tive was issued by the Supreme Court to create a better racial balance in United States. In order to correct past discriminatory action based on sex and race, the affirmative action program was introduced. This move directed employers to employ minorities who in the past were discouraged from seeking jobs with them. Much of attention has turned to affirmative action in higher education when University of Texas School of law stated that the school giving admissions to minorities was not constitutional but Supreme Court held that admissions to schools was to be on equal basis and merit. The court made discrimination in private sector illegal and unconstitutional. A good example is the case between Patterson and Mclean Credit Union where the court barred racial discrimination in hiring employees as it was against civil rights(Abraham and Barbara 44-55). The courts have adopted double standard which aid in analyzing

Comparison of the Economic Ideas of GDP Growth Essay

Comparison of the Economic Ideas of GDP Growth - Essay Example 27). The human development idea of the UNDP emphasises some factors like education, life expectancy, gross national income and other issues that are standardised in the three main factors as a measure of people’s capability. The idea is that those who have a long life, have attained high education in a country that has high gross national income are likely to be very productive. This is because these people will be able to choose different economic activities that can bring income for their own as well as contribute to the economy of their country. On the other hand, it implies that if a person lives a short life, have low education attainment in a country that has low gross national income he or she is likely to be very unproductive. This is because they will contribute to very little benefit to the country in which they live since they have very few choices to make in the pool of economic activities available to all people. The human development idea of the UNDP emphasises t he importance of both resources and capability to exploit them so that they can increase the income or benefit to the people and consequently impact the national economy. According this idea, availability of resources without capability to exploit them has no advantage to the people who have them (United Nations Development Programme, 2000, p. 12). The neoclassical view of utility is an idea that presents a different perspective into the explanation of development or the economic growth of individuals and consequently that of the country. The idea of the neoclassical view of utility explains that people’s preferences are important in determining the things they can do in the economy to increase their individual income and consequently that of the country. This means that a...This essay presents one of the best examples of theoretical comparison of three most common ideas of economic scholars on the growth and development of economy. For the UNDP’s human development, ca pability is important to enhance economic growth, to the neoclassical view of utility, what people choose to do is important and according to the macroeconomic idea of constant growth, the economic performance of the wider economy is key in determining growth in an individual or institution. The UNDP idea of human development as a determinant for growth of economy explains that management of abilities of the people is important because it influences their involvement in economic activities. Economic growth happens in situations where people have wide areas for making choices. The neoclassical view of utility is an idea that presents a different perspective into the explanation of development or the economic growth of individuals and consequently that of the country. The idea of the neoclassical view of utility explains that people’s preferences are important in determining the things they can do in the economy to increase their individual income and consequently that of the country. The macroeconomic idea of constant growth of GDP is an important way of explaining the development of a country or an individual. This idea focuses on the performance of the larger economy as a factor in determining the growth of individuals. The economic growth therefore is not dependent on the opportunities’ availability or an utilities.