Leadership and Management Paper free essay sample

â€Å"Finest Touch† Event Specialist Jennifer Bailey Leadership and Management OM – 3503 Matthew Brown August 28, 2012 Introduction Jennifer’s â€Å"Finest Touch† Event Specialist is a company that takes pride in making your occasion distinct and unique. Our goal is to provide a custom designed affair that fits the expectations of the client for that special event. Upon discussing an idea of your dream vision for the day, we will design and coordinate a breath-taking setting that truly reflects your style and personality. Our personal consulting service will work to deliver an affair that will meet all your expectations. Communication is the key to our success. Consistent interaction with our clients is the key to ensure that the event comes together smoothly. Our goal and mission statement is to make sure all of our client’s ideas and wishes are carried out so the day can be enjoyed to the fullest. The purpose of this paper is to define and reference subjects that were taught in the Leadership and Management class OM3503 and explain how they can be utilized to build a successful business. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership and Management Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? Leadership is defined as, a person who guides or directs a group (Hersey, Blanchard amp; Johnson, 2008). To be a great leader there are certain qualities that must be held. Examples of some of the skills required are, having the ability to influence, understand each situation, be authoritative and give direction in a positive manner in order to maximize the greatest potential from your employees. Use your employee’s strengths in a manner that is most beneficial for the company. Remember that people make the company. A great leader learns from experience. Leaders do not know everything. A valuable tool to utilize is listening to your employees. Take advantage of data provided and absorb the information, use it to your advantage. A great philosophy is that there are no dumb questions. Evaluate every situation and make the decision and if a mistake is made, use it as a learning tool. What type of leadership is needed for this specific business? L = f (l, f, s) The equation for leadership is L = f (l, f, s) (Hersey, Blanchard amp; Johnson, 2008). In translation, leadership is a function of the leader, the follower and other situational variables. There are numerous characteristics that are needed in building a successful business in being an event specialist. The goal of the business is to provide a pleasurable, memorable experience and if there are negative reviews the reputation of the company is at risk. Reputation in this type of business is an important factor in being successful. It is a highly competitive market and in order to be one of the best, the service provided has to be of the utmost quality. Employees have to be led in an organized manner in order to get the event fulfilled with no major issues or setbacks. Meeting or exceeding the expectations of the client the event is designed for is the major factor in becoming and maintaining a successful business. Theory â€Å"X† vs. Theory â€Å"Y† The â€Å"X† and â€Å"Y† theories both come into play in this type of business. The situational demand of the specific environment is a factor in determining the type of leadership approach that is needed. Theory â€Å"X† is defined as an authoritarian leader. This type of leadership is needed for guiding employees. The focus has to be placed on the task at hand. There is great detail that has to be satisfied in order for the event to successful. The emphasis on organization is important. Required responsibilities have to be defined to each employee. The expectation of what the employee is responsible for, when it is expected and how their tasks are accomplished has to be communicated to each employee. Consistent and effective leadership is required. Consistency between the leader and the employee enhances the learning ability of the employee to become the best he/she can be. Effective leadership will build the confidence of the employee and eventually he/she will be able to perform the tasks on their own with little guidance from the employer. Theory â€Å"Y† is defined as a democratic leader who focuses on the people or relationship. In the event planning business this element is important for communicating with the customer. People skills are a must. The relationship built is a form of trust that the customer is placing on you to provide the service. Trust is not only important for the customer but is important when dealing with vendors such as, photographers, caterers, hotels, rental halls, musicians etc. The relationship needs to be built and maintained so the vendors will be willing to work with your company on future engagements. Once this is developed with the vendors, the vendor becomes familiar with your expectations. The ability to communicate is established and the expectations are easily conveyed. Situational Leadership Task Behavior vs. Relationship Behavior Both task behavior and relationship behavior are major components in establishing a lucrative event planning business. Task behavior is one way communication between the leader and the follower (Hersey, Blanchard amp; Johnson, 2008). The responsibilities must be defined so the employee will know what is expected of him/her. If the tasks are not defined the employee is set up to fail. Communication is an integral part of getting the employee to become the best he/she can be. Positive communication empowers the employee to give all they have and builds the esteem that is needed to be their best. If the employee has little or no knowledge of what is expected of them the scheduled event could become a disaster. Relationship behavior is the leader participating in two-way or multi-way communication. (Hersey, Blanchard amp; Johnson, 2008). Building a relationship with an employee through listening, facilitating and giving an explanation on why something has to be done a certain way helps the employee understand why he is performing in the way to get the optimum result. Relationship behavior offers support which builds the confidence level of the employee. S1-S4, R1-R4 There is no set guideline on what is the best way to inspire people. The leadership style used should be contingent on the level of competency the employee has regarding the task that he/she is required to handle. There are four basic leadership styles. Style 1 (S1) is needed when you have an R1 employee (defined as an employee who is unable, insecure and unwilling to do the required task). S1 leadership is a high task/low relationship. The communication is one way and directives are given to the employee. Close supervision is required. There is not much room in the event planning business for this type of employee. The leader does not have the time to invest unless there is potential to build the confidence and attitude of the employee and change them from an RI type to an R2 or above. Style 2 (S2) is needed when you have an R2 employee (defined as an employee who is unable but confident or willing). S2 leadership is a high task/high relationship. Through two- way communication as the leader makes the decisions that the employee can follow. The leader needs to give praise and constantly evaluate the employee to see if they understand what is expected. This type of employee can possibly become a great employee if the ability to maintain the knowledge exists. Style 3 (S3) is needed when you have an R3 employee (defined as an employee who is able but is insecure or unwilling). S3 leadership is high relationship/low task relationship. The leadership encourages input, listens, let’s the employee make decisions and gives positive comments when the task is completed with no issues and when issues occur this leadership skill provides constructive criticism. This type of employee is worth investing in but the key for the event planning business is to turn them into an R4 employee. If this type of employee cannot build the confidence within himself/herself they become a liability that the leader has to watch over and there is no time for that in the event planning business. Style 4 (S4) is needed when you have an R4 employee (defined as an employee who is able, confident and willing). S4 leadership is low relationship/low task. The employee has the ability to know what needs to be done and little or no supervision is required. This is the perfect employee and is a must in the event planning business. If the employer has the time to invest in order to turn an average employee to a great employee they should do so. The ability to identify the needs of the employee in order to gain self-confidence can be developed into a valuable asset for the company. If the employee has the ability to grasp the knowledge conveyed to them the employer can mold them to fit their specific needs. Management Who Carries the Monkey on Their Back in the Event Planning Business? If the event planning business is owned privately by one or two individuals the monkey is carried on the back of the owners. Ultimately the owners are responsible if there is a failure. If the business is owned by a Corporation then it is the manager/leader in charge of the venue that is responsible for carrying the monkey. This is where the importance of hiring the right people for the job and training is important. Multiple tasks are going on during the event and management has to have confidence that their employees are fulfilling their portion of the detailed duties that are required. Value Added vs. Non Value Added Value added and non- value added in relation to the event planning business. People are willing to spend large sums of money to have the perfect wedding or celebration. The event planning business provides a service and if a customer pays for a service it must be provided. Value added is vital. One meticulous detail could be the determining factor if an event is a success or failure. If a contract is generated for a set amount and small details are not accounted for the event specialist could lose money or damage the company’s reputation. Non value added could be the deal breaker on whether you get the contract to host the event or lose it to another event specialist. The customer wants all and more for the dollar they are spending. If two contracts are being reviewed and there is non-value added services quoted the customer will notice and go with the company who can meet their expectations at the lowest price. Examples of non-value added are, if a customer pays for ten cases of champagne when only 8 were needed or if excessive food quoted. It is crucial that the event specialist knows how to quote for items such as food, refreshments, decorations, entertainment etc. Spending must meet quoted cost while maintaining quality service. CONCLUSION Leadership and management have two different skill sets. A manager focuses on the, how and when. A leader focuses on the, what and why. Neither skill set is better than the other. Influence and leadership skills can be switched to fit the needs at that moment. The type of leader/manager needed at that moment depends on the situation. The statement leads self/lead others has power. Lead self, lead others analogy. Learn to recognize changes that need to be made. Situations arise and how they are handled is noticed by the people around you. Learn self-control in your thoughts and actions in order to maintain the respect of the employees who look to you for guidance. This ability is hard to maintain but is a necessity needed in maintaining the business and building future business. The event planning business is very competitive. There is a large market and people are willing to spend the money in order to have the perfect event. Lifetime memories are created. If there are major issues and complications the reputation of the company becomes perceived in a negative way, which affects business. If the event is not pleasurable to the customer a treasured memory is damaged and can be devastating to the client. The event planning business is a detailed and organized profession. If those qualities can be achieved and retained the establishment should be rewarding and profitable. References Oncken, W. , Wass, D. L. , amp; Covey, S. R. (1999). Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?. Harvard Business Review, 77(6), 178. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Accession number: 2434961 Collins, J. (2001). Good to great, why some companies make the leap and others dont. New York: Harper Collins. Hersey, P. , Blanchard, K. , amp; Johnson, D. (2008). Management organizational behavior. (9th Ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Wallace Carothers essays

Wallace Carothers essays Wallace Carothers was born in Iowa(1896). He was the oldest of four siblings. After high school Carothers studied acconting at Capital City. He then went to Tarkio College in Missiouri where he studied science and taught accounting. He graduated in 1920 then got his master from the University of Illiniois the following year. He took a teaching post at The University of South Dakota, and there began working on organic chemistry, He found he liked research far more than teaching. He obtained his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1924. He became an instructor at Harvard. In 1928, The DuPont chemical company opened a labortory for basic research and hired Carothers as the manager of a whole division. There he and his team created neoprene(1931) and nylon(1934). Through his whole life he suffered from depression. In 1936 he maried Helen Sweetman and had a daughter, but never met her. In 1937 his favorite sister died which added to his deprresion and his eventual suicide in April of that same year ...

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE - Essay Example Thinking of the possible strategies and reforms to mitigate the problem, I came up with the accurate suggestions and critical thoughts on Medicare, which I would share within the following reflection. As it has been mentioned in the case, the Rosalyns preexisting condition of ulcer restrained her from receiving due to the few compounding circumstances: first, she was divorced, second, her annual salary at the gift-wrapping company of $19,000 was insufficient to cover medical care and the employee did not provided any sort of medical coverage for her, the last, but not the least, a â€Å"relatively innocent† disorder, an ulcer, made so far expensive medical insurance to cost like a sort of luxury. Obviously, if Rosalyn was not rejected at first, her cancer would not metastasized into womans hips and she would not break her fragile hip bone. The woman died a decade after her surgeries. In the aftermath of Rosalyns case, it may seem that costly medical advantages seem to be a kind of unattainable service even for those, who are, like, Rosalyn, in desperate need for emergent medical assistance. It is impossibly cruel to make someone suffer, witness how their health state progressively deteriorate. What make things feel even worse, is that getting sick for average middle-aged employed American citizen is a sort of fatal disaster. Rosalyns case seems to be outrageous, if observed through the lens of distributive justice theory. That concept is related to the fair distribution of existent resources amidst diverse members of the society. That justice is grounded on the total amount of goods to be allocated, the procedure and distributive pattern. In the health care settings, like in any other field, distributive justice is expected to work for the good of patients. Allocation of medical services, thereof, should be based on the criteria of need, equity and equality. Currently, the United States of America maintains a patchwork system of five

Goat Farm Making Chees and Yoghurt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Goat Farm Making Chees and Yoghurt - Essay Example It also involves taking into consideration the short-term and long-term goals. The visits to various goat dairy firms will also help one to learn various demands of the business and how to build goat milk houses, cheese plants, and yoghurt plants. These visits will also help to understand the challenges they are likely to encounter in the business (Hempler, 2002, p. 1). Individuals should consider location of their business. This will ensure that they are able to plan their marketing strategies and be able to determine the available market for the given products. Physical location of any business is an important aspect in marketing. It also determines the means of accessing markets for the products, which ensures business success. It is important to identify the target markets for the products which are being produced, as well as to assess the available markets. This can be achieved by carrying out a market viability survey. During the analysis, one is able to create good relationshi ps with the customers and gather responses from them regarding the products to be made. This ensures that the farmer is able to gauge and evaluate the returns they are likely to get from the business (Hempler, 2002, p. 1). ... An entrepreneur should identify equipment, materials and resources needed for the business and the potential supplier. This will ensure that the farm gets the necessary requirements at the right time. Ensure that the supplier of equipment and other materials is able to provide the farm with spare parts and repair services before having these equipment and materials installed in the farm. The equipment and items needed for the cheese and yoghurt plants should be approved by the department of agriculture and markets. The farmer should also seek help of an agricultural inspector. During these sessions it is important that one indicates what they intend to accomplish. This will help the inspector to give the farmer the best methods and means to apply in order to attain success (Roberts, 2001, p. 70). Consultations with the veterinary officer would also help the farmer select the suitable breeds for the business and provide more information on their health, vaccinations and feeding. Obtai ning insurance for the business is an important step in the process. Farmers should, therefore, ensure that they have adequate liability coverage and product liability (New Zealand Food Safety Authority, 2009, p. 18). Regulatory Framework The farmer should also consider various rules and restrictions regarding farmland. There are accepted agricultural practices which every farmer should ensure they are observed on their farms. According to Act 250 on the Land Use and Development, farmers should ensure that they obtain a permit allowing them to use the land. The farmer should also obtain a health permit from the ministry of health allowing them to produce cheese and yoghurt. They should obtain a manufacturing license and medical

How the The Great Wall reflects Chinese culture Essay

How the The Great Wall reflects Chinese culture - Essay Example From the Ming Dynasty, these great walls have continued to face renovations, rebuilding, maintenance, and enhancing the cultural purposes it served in the first place (DuTemple, 2002). Most notably, the Great Wall constructions have become one of the world wonders hence strengthening the cultural reflections of this country. A country’s culture has much to do with that country’s history. The Great Wall of China reflects the mindset of defence that runs across the country even to this date. Many of the traditional buildings and homes in China architectural designs keep defence in mind (DuTemple, 2002). The Chinese people wanted to keep invaders out of their country and especially away from the emperor. Two prime examples of this are the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is the same idea, which this great wall construction incubating the dynasties symbolizes. The purpose was to shield maraud warriors and tribes from unprecedented incursions. The culture of China reflects eras of social unrest, which came from the intruders (DuTemple, 2002). As a result, the wall serves the Chinese well for it protects this country’s culture, as the great construction has waded away-unwanted visitors. One of the notable reflections in this Great Wall construction is to restore w hat the country terms as the renewed perspective. Back in the past, the country has faced many degrading seasons. The availability of this wall has reminded the day-to-day strategic planners of the country of the need to rebuild it. The wall surrounds the once ripped off histories of the Chinese dynasty and the permanent enclose is symbolic of a country that does not want more interferences with its roots (DuTemple, 2002). For several reasons now, the country has periodically come back alive and more resilient than its former self. Therefore, it is notable for one to suggest that ‘The Great Wall’ encloses the culture of defence and the spirit of renovation, away from

Hollywood in the global film market | Film Studies

Hollywood in the global film market | Film Studies When the average Friday night cinema-goer sits down to watch a film in this country they would most probably be waiting to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster projected onto the screen. This seems to have been the norm for decades now but it wasnt always the case. Cinema was born in France with the introduction of motion pictures from the Lumià ¨re brothers; Auguste and Louis. The first presentation of motion pictures and the Lumià ¨re Cinà ©matographe (a combined camera, printer and projector) was to the Society for the Promotion of Industry (Socià ©tà © dEncouragement a lindustrie Nationale) on March 22, 1895. Only one film was shown, Employees Leaving the Lumià ¨re Factory (La Sortie des usines Lumià ¨re), shot by Louis. It was projected, almost as an afterthought, following their lecture on advances in experimental colour photography. It was nine months later in the darkened rooms at the Grand Cafà © in Paris on December 28, 1895 that the first exhibition of moving image s was opened to a paying, European audience. Included on the playbill were The Arrival of the Train (LArrivà ©e dun train à   la Ciotat), Babys Meal (Repas de Bà ©bà ©) and The Sprayer Sprayed (LArroseur et arrosà ©e). However, it wasnt long before cinema became international when the Americans tried their hand at making movies. In the period between the Lumieres first private and public exhibitions, two brothers, Otway and Gray Latham, screened the very first film to the paying public; Young Griffo versus Battling Charles Barnett, an impressive eight minute reel of a boxing match between the titular Griffo and Barnett. Their small storefront theatre in Broadway, New York became the first dedicated cinema. Over the next twenty years the number of filmmakers and films being made increased. This period of frantic filmmaking became known as the Silent Era. All over the United States movies were being shown at ‘Nickelodeons; shops that had been transformed into exhibition areas where films were projected onto screens, walls or hanging sheets. This was not just an American phenomenon; here in the UK over 3000 cinemas had opened by 1917. The number of important films of this era included Georges Mà ©lià ¨s 1902 film A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune) based on Jules Vernes novel From the Earth to the Moon (De la Terre à   la Lune) that is recognised as being the first science fiction movie; Edwin S. Porters 1903 movie The Great Train Robbery that introduced complex narrative structure it its editing techniques; and D.W. Griffiths 1915 feature The Birth of a Nation which grossed $10 million at the box office. The next logical step for this new industry was to integrate sound with the images. In 1927 Warner Brothers released The Jazz Singer, the first ‘talkie feature film to be widely distributed. This invention practically caused the death of the Silent Era as audiences demanded sound with their films and heralded the ‘Golden Age of cinema. But once again it was not an industry completely dominated by Hollywood. The French idea of commercial movie houses became the international model, and entrepreneurs scurried to build impressive movie houses across North America and Europe including theatres to seat up to 5,000 people, rather than relying on the storefront Nickelodeons from the turn of the century. Birmingham born businessman Oscar Deutsch opened his first Odeon cinema in the UK in Perry Barr, Birmingham in 1920. By 1930 the Odeon was a household name and to this day there is still an Odeon in the prime location of British cinema exhibition, Leicester Square. Since the Second World War (1939 1945) the dominance of Hollywood as the motion picture production capital of the world has been virtually unchallenged. With the exception of the Indian Film Industry, lovingly named ‘Bollywood, there has not been a notable challenger to Hollywoods crown. There have been moments when a possible contender to the throne has emerged from within Europe or the UK, bringing with it a new style of filmmaking, a new school of thought or an embarrassing outburst at an awards ceremony; â€Å"The British are coming!† In the last sixty years there have been several European film movements that have demonstrated that there is an alternative to the Hollywood system, however they have not managed to topple the system and in some cases have been neatly integrated and repackaged into the Hollywood blockbuster. In this essay I shall look at the stranglehold that Hollywood seems to possess over the global film market and contrast it to the state of the European film industries and in particular to the British film industry. I shall emphasis the importance of European and British films, filmmakers and movements and how they relate to the Hollywood system. Being that this is such a large topic area I shall focus on how Hollywood has figuratively grown into a dragon and that the sporadic attempts at slaying it by European ‘knights in shining armour more often than not end up feeding it and making it stronger. I shall try to determine how influential non-Hollywood films are on Hollywood, and vice versa. I also intend to examine how the British film industry has fared since the end of the Second World War against such stiff competition from the other side of the Atlantic; and what lies ahead in the not too distant future. For the purposes of this essay I shall refer to the mainstream American film industry as ‘Hollywood; I am not saying that Hollywood ‘is the American film industry as there are a number of independent filmmakers producing and releasing feature films that frequently make box office profits, most notably Miramax, but for this essay I shall be focusing purely on the Hollywood system. The Hollywood as we know it today began in earnest in the 1910s when major producers such as Carl Laemmle, William Fox, Adolph Zukor and Marcus Loew decided to disassociate from the Film Trust based in New York (a ‘trust of the ten leading American and European producers of movies and manufacturers of cameras and equipment set up in 1908 that would tax filmmakers into using their patents to allow the film to be officially ‘legal) and venture into a more independent, West coast filmmaking structure in the all-year sunshine of California. This departure from the Trust afforded the producers to shoot feature films instead of the normal short one or two ‘reelers (so named after the length of the reel of film used to shoot it). These independents introduced a vertically integrated system that eventually covered production, distribution and exhibition. The Hollywood studio system was born and names such as Paramount (formerly Adolph Zukors Famous Players-Lasky), Fox, Warn er Brothers, Universal (formerly Carl Laemmles Independent Motion Picture Company), Columbia, Universal Artists and Marcus Loews MGM blossomed. According to Douglas Gomery: â€Å"†¦the average cost for Hollywood features of the day rarely ranged beyond $500,000, expanding distribution across the globe meant revenues regularly topped $1,000,000.† (Nowell-Smith 48). This was a massive leap in the twenty years from a time when a film of a train approaching a railway station was shown to the general public. Hollywood understood that the needs and demands of the masses had become more sophisticated over the short period of time that was cinemas infancy. As such the producers looked towards popular pulp fiction novels, plays and in particular the newly invented genre of the Western to entertain their audiences. In 1922 the major Hollywood companies formed the Motion Picture Producers and Distribution Association of America (MPPDA) to assist in the promotion and distribution of films worldwide. This was run by a former Republican politician, William H. Hays. His work for the MPDDA was closely linked with the US State Department and allowed Hollywood to dominate the UK, Canada, Australia, Europe (except Germany and the Soviet Union), South America, Central America and the Caribbean. This world domination looked set to continue until the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Even though Hollywood had originally distanced itself from New York, financial backing from the East coast was needed to fund the studios. As such the Depression that followed the stock market crash proved a difficult time for Hollywood, though not immediately as the movie industry enjoyed its best year in 1930 as studio profits reached record levels. However, between 1930 and 1933 theatre admissions fell from 90 million per week to 60 million, gross industry revenues fell from $730 million to about $480 million, and combined studio profits of $52 million became net losses of some $55 million. (Nowell-Smith 220). However it wasnt all doom and gloom. As the ‘Big Five of Paramount, RKO, Warner Bros, Fox and MGM had to reorganise their financial structure (the integration of owning their own cinemas was almost bankrupting them), the ‘major minor studios of Columbia, Universal and United Artists were enjoying the freedom of only being production and distribution companies; therefore having the freedom to continue producing high quality films without the noose of the exhibition property around their necks. In fact it was in this period that the minor studios were producing ‘B-movies; factory-produced low cost, low risk genre films usually made up of cowboys, gangsters or horror (for example; South of the Rio Grande Columbia 1932, Afraid to Talk Universal 1932, and White Zombie United Artists 1932). This ability to adapt to the market is an early demonstration of why Hollywood is still the market leader in feature films. From these early years it was evident that the studio system was going to be at the forefront of film production. The 1930s and 1940s were to prove to be the beginning of the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema with the introduction of colour films and the release of such popular films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney 1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (Warner Bros 1938), Gone with the Wind (MGM 1939), The Wizard of Oz (MGM 1939), and Citizen Kane (RKO 1941). When the United States entered the Second World War in 1941 the Hollywood machine was utilised by the government to produce propaganda films for the American public. Within one year of the attack on Pearl Harbour, nearly one third of Hollywoods feature films were war related, as were the vast majority of its newsreels and documentaries (Nowell-Smith 234). Yet again Hollywood was flexible enough to mee t the demands of the public and due to the nature of the audiences at home and most notably abroad (the UK), Hollywoods foreign revenues reached record levels. Like the Depression before it, even the Second World War could not stop Hollywood. The next period of Hollywood cinema came in the 1960s and continues today. This is regularly referred to as Modern Cinema and saw the power of the studios sway towards the director (often regarded as the auteur). In his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls author Peter Biskind highlights Arthur Penns Bonnie and Clyde (Warner Bros 1967) as the first of the new breed of films, â€Å"Bonnie and Clyde was a movement movie; like The Graduate, young audiences recognized that it was ‘theirs† (Biskind 49). This ‘new Hollywood saw new players attract new audiences. The new kids on the block included George Lucas (THX 1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars), Steven Spielberg (Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park), Martin Scorsese (Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The Aviator) and Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Dracula). The power of the director was affirmed when George Lucass 1977 film Star Wars was released and confirmed that a single film could earn its studio huge profits and t urn a poor year into a very successful one. Star Wars had a production budget of around $13 million (imdb.com) and has (as of the end of June 2005) grossed nearly $798 million. (thenumbers.com) While the American film industry had always looked abroad for sources of revenue, the global focus of Hollywood was also amplified in this period. Overseas theatrical and video markets exploded during the second half of 1980s; between 1984 and 1986, Hollywoods European exports alone jumped 225 percent to reach $561 million annually. In some major European markets, Hollywood movies accounted for 45-65 percent of total box-office receipts. (Herman 39) In fact, according to The Numbers (a free resource for industry professionals to track business information on movies) out of the top 100 all-time highest grossing movies worldwide, only one movie was made before the period of Modern Hollywood Cinema (Gone with the Wind which has grossed $350 million dollars since its release in 1939). (thenumbers .com) With the top two films grossing $2,000 million having been released in 1997 (James Camerons Titanic) and 2003 (Peter Jacksons third instalment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King) it is obvious that the Hollywood machine still manages to churn out money-making productions. So what is it that keeps Hollywood head and shoulders above other national film industries? In his essay Reconceptualizing National Cinema/s, Stephen Crofts points out that there are seven varieties of ‘national cinema as licensed by the political, economic and cultural rà ©gimes of different nation-states: â€Å"Cinemas which differ from Hollywood, but do not compete directly, by targeting a distinct, specialist market sector; Those which differ, do not compete directly but do directly critique Hollywood; European and Third World entertainment cinemas which struggle against Hollywood with limited or no success; Cinemas which ignore Hollywood, an accomplishment managed by a few; Anglophone cinemas which try to beat Hollywood at its own game; Cinemas which work within a wholly state-controlled and often state-subsidized industry; and Regional or national cinemas whose culture and/or language take their distance from the nation-states which enclose them.† Crofts 50) He ar gues that Hollywood can not be seen as a national cinema due to its trans-national appeal. Thomas Elsaesser adds that Hollywood is totally other to national cinema it is difficult to maintain because so much of any nations film culture is implicitly Hollywood. (Elsaesser 166). This is echoed in the words of Edward Buscombe who states that at times Hollywood appears to be†¦ no longer a national cinema but the cinema (Buscombe 141) These views propel the ideology that Hollywood is the word people use to describe popular cinema. As Crofts identified, there are a number of ways in which non-Hollywood cinema has tried to challenge (or indeed avoid confrontation) the American system. The fifth example; ‘Anglophone cinemas which try to beat Hollywood at its own game best represents how the British film industry tried to challenge the giant that is Hollywood (with varying results). The European film industries would fall into the third and seventh categories; ‘European and Third World entertainment cinemas which struggle against Hollywood with limited or no success; and ‘Regional or national cinemas whose culture and/or language take their distance from the nation-states which enclose them. Due to the many different European languages the latter example is perhaps the most relevant but at the same time admits defeat in attempting to export the film to the United States. However, this is not to say that Hollywood has not had to adapt to remain the world leader. The early 1980s saw a dramatic drop in box office receipts. The beginning of the decade saw a 9% drop in tickets sold nationwide in American cinemas when only 1,022 million were sold. This figure got worse in 1986 when just over 1,017 million tickets were sold (boxofficemojo.com) (compared to over 4,500 million ticket sales in 1930). The home video market had certainly dented theatrical sales but Hollywood would always recoup somehow. The immediate problem was the cost of keeping cinemas o pen; a similar situation to the post Depression period of the 1930s. Another financial reshuffle was in order. The six major Hollywood film studios were now part of conglomerates. Gulf Western (Paramounts parent company) also owned Madison Square Gardens, Desilu, Simon and Schuster, and Paramount Pictures Television. Yet, only 11% of Gulf Westerns revenues were derived from entertainment industry holdings and just 4% from Paramount Pictures in 1981. That same year, United Artists was bringing only 12% of the revenues in for Transamerica, Universal represented 22% of MCAs income, and Warner Bros. accounted for 24% of Warner Communications revenue. (Lewis 86). However, by 1989, the entertainment division of Gulf Western, led by Paramount Pictures, accounted for over 50% of Gulf Westerns yearly income during a year in which Paramount had only fourteen releases and a 13.8% share of the market thanks to the success of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($197 million domestic box office), (the-numbers.com) demonstrating again just how important a single film had become by the end of the 1980s. These blockbusters were to save Hollywood and allow it to grow stronger, and in 2002 ticket sales were over the 1,523 million mark which was the highest figure for over twenty years. It is practically impossible to pinpoint a single film that best demonstrates how the Hollywood system works. I have chosen to examine three different movies from three different periods of its history to illustrate how Hollywood evolves; Intolerance (1916), Singin in the Rain (1952) and The Matrix (1999). D.W. Griffith directed over 500 films during his career, most of them were shorts produced between 1908 and 1914. In 1915 he directed Birth of a Nation, a film that â€Å"†¦established him as one of the first truly great film directors, able to balance scale with intimate, impassioned storytelling† (Falk 11) but the film also has its critics: â€Å"Hopefully the only film in movie history to project in its publicity the Ku Klux Klan as the heroic defenders of Christian civilization† (Shiach 12). Two years later he directed Intolerance. Intolerance is, in my opinion, a better example of a Hollywood film than the overtly racist Birth of a Nation. Its narrative structure is interwoven with four different stories from four different periods in history each telling their own stories of intolerance, be it through religion or society. This storytelling device of jumping from one story to another allowed Griffith to direct the film at a speed that would keep the audiences enthralled to the very last reel. Unfortunately it failed at the box office. The production budget was over three and half times than that of Birth of a Nation and the box office did not return this. The lavish sets and numerous extras that were brought in by Griffith to turn this into a spectacle ended up leading to its financial failure. This was an early lesson to the studios that throwing a lot of money at a production did not necessarily mean that it was going to be successful. In hindsight this film stands up well; the crowd scenes are epic, so to the Babylon sets and the innovative use of camera angles and cross-cut editing techniques. Griffith formed United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart and Mary Pickford in 1919, cementing his position as a major player in the early Hollywood years. The year 1952 saw the highest grossing film in America to be the documentary This is Cinerama showcasing the possibilities of Cinerama; a widescreen system that employed stereophonic sound and used three cameras and three projectors to cover a huge curved screen. Further down the list was Stanley Donen and Gene Kellys musical Singin in the Rain (MGM 1952). Not only does the film include perhaps one of the most memorable scenes in Hollywood history (the song and dance of the title) but also one of the first big budget films to poke fun at its own industry. The story takes place during the transition from silent film into ‘talking pictures and highlights some of the problems that arose for all the major studios. Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times proudly states that â€Å"Singin in the Rain has been voted one of the greatest films of all time in international critics polls, and is routinely called the greatest of all the Hollywood musicals. I dont think theres an y doubt about that. There are other contenders†¦ but Singin in the Rain comes first because it is not only from Hollywood, it is about Hollywood.† (Ebert). The film was rushed through by MGM (the studio that produced most of the lavish musicals) after the success of 1951s An American in Paris and as such the film was an original screenplay and Donen and Kelly were freed from the constraints of adapting a stage musical, being able to develop something completely from scratch. This freedom is present on screen and, like the previous example Intolerance has won more fans in the years after its release than the audiences at the time. Today the musical is a rare sight to emerge from Hollywood. It is seen as an expensive genre that has served its time. There have been a few exceptions like Baz Luhrmanns Moulin Rouge (20th Century Fox 2001) and Rob Marshalls Chicago (Miramax 2002) but I cannot see any Hollywood studio spending money on this genre like MGM did in the Golden Age. Brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski directed the science fiction action movie The Matrix in 1999. Labeled by some as a â€Å"cult classic† (Gottlieb), I find it hard to agree that a film that has grossed over $450 million (thenumbers.com) worldwide should be called a ‘cult. Set sometime in the near future the film taps into a common paranoia that all is not as it seems. Hollywood released this film, with its $65 million (thenumbers.com) production budget knowing that the recent trend of Asian kung-fu movies were entertaining the young generation like Hark Tsuis 1991 film Once Upon a Time in China (Wong Fei-hung) or Woo-ping Yuens 1993 film Iron Monkey (Siunin Wong Fei-hung tsi titmalau). This film was also used in an extensive advertising campaign to promote the sales of DVDs; a figure of $20 million was spent on prints and advertising costs. With the combination of kung-fu, a storyline focusing on paranoia and special effects never seen before in a major blockbuster; it w ould not be cynical to believe that Hollywood thought of The Matrix as their ticket into the new millennium. The British film industry has historically always been the poorer cousin to Hollywood, or as Robert Murphy suggests, â€Å"British cinema has been despised and disparaged for much of its existence† (Murphy 5). While Hollywood was experimenting with and developing the dramatic narrative of feature films in the early 1910s, Britain did not realise the potential of the longer film format; and one of the only companys releasing fictional drama, albeit single reel films, was Hepworth who produced films such as Rescued by Rover (1905), Faust (1911) and A Fishermans Love Story (1912). As late as 1925 Joseph Schenck commented on the inferiority of British cinema saying that â€Å"You have no personalities to put on the screen. The stage actors and actresses are no good on the screen. Your effects are no good, and you do not spend nearly so much money.† (Schenck). This statement is eerily poignant eighty years after he said it. In fact as early as 1907 Hollywood was acting swift er than Britain in developing the cinematic world by exploiting British cultural heritage when the Selig Polyscope Company produced the one reel short A Tale of Two Cities based on Charles Dickens novel. Four years later Vitagraph remade the film as a thirty minute short in 1911. In fact Hollywood then remade the film six years after that when Fox produced A Tale of Two Cities in 1917. It wasnt until W. Courteney Rowden directed the one reel film of the same title that Britain finally had its own film version of the novel in 1922. And it wasnt until Ralph Thomas directed A Tale of Two Cities (Rank 1958) that Britain had its very own feature film of the novel; the sixth remake since the original 1907 film. Even though the British film industry was slow to accept the possibilities offered by the dramatic narrative of feature film there were some important figures to emerge. Alfred Hitchcock directed his first completed feature film in 1925 with the crime drama The Pleasure Garden, having already made a name for himself as a writer on Graham Cutts Woman to Woman (1923). He followed that up with a number of groundbreaking films including The Lodger (Gainsborough Pictures 1927), his first talking movie Blackmail (BIP 1929), and Jamaica Inn (Mayflower 1939); his final film in Britain before Hollywood producer David O. Selznick sent for him from Hollywood. At a time when Hollywood was going from strength to strength with the help of the MPPDA, Britain was finding that too many American imports were saturating the home industry; $165 million revenue was made for Hollywood by the overseas British market. (Nowell-Smith 58). The Films Act of 1927 set a quota on imported movies that â€Å"was pr ogressive, beginning at 5 percent and rising to 20 percent in ten years time.† (Balio 469). This should have been a period in which Britain could progress both in quality and quantity of film production as the Act was meant to â€Å"open up the market for ‘long (over 3,000 feet in length) British films by stipulating that 7.5 per cent of films acquired by film renters each year had to be British and 5 per cent of those shown by exhibitors also had to be of British origin, both percentages rising to 20 by 1935 and remaining at that level until 1938 when the Act expired.† (Street 10). In reality it allowed a number of cheap productions, or â€Å"quota quickies† (Balio 469) to be made that did more harm than good for the British film industry. However, the Act allowed Britain to emulate the American system of vertical integration with companies able to produce, distribute and exhibit its own films; this introduced The Associated British Picture Corporation and the Gaumont British Picture Corporation. The British film movement enjoyed a period of producing a number of fine films (most notably by Alfred Hitchcock) that included Alexander Kordas period drama The Private Life of Henry VIII (London Film Productions 1933), Marcel Varnels comedy starring Will Hay, Oh, Mr. Porter! (Gainsborough 1937), and Sam Woods drama Goodbye Mr. Chips (MGM 1939). When the Second World War broke out in 1939 Britain had to focus on the war effort; just as what was to happen in Hollywood, the films produced up to the end of the war were predominantly propaganda films. Some of the greatest filmmakers in British cinema were to come to the publics attention during the war; directors such as Michael Powell (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1943), David Lean (In Which We Serve 1942), Thorold Dickinson (Next of Kin 1943) and Carol Reed (The Way Ahead 1944) exploded onto the scene. The 1940s were an exciting time for the British film industry with box office admissions peaking at 1,635 million in 1946 (Sparos 14) and companies such as the Rank Organisation began to expand, with a massive screen empire embracing the Gaumont British company; this included the Gainsborough Studios, the Odeon cinema circuit and Pinewood and Denham studios. The famous Ealing Studio, under Michael Balcon, secured its place in film history with the production of comedies such as Passport to Pimlico, Whisky Galore and Kind Hearts and Coronets, all made in 1949. Two years earlier Balcon founded the British Film Academy in a hotel suite at the Hyde Park Hotel on the 16 April 19 47. This was later to become BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). Running parallel to the Ealing comedies was the movement of social reality films, commonly referred to as ‘kitchen sink dramas but often named the New Wave. At a time when the British public was feeling the burden of the aftermath of the war with rationing and high unemployment, there was a need for film to reflect the lives of the masses. One of the first major forays into this genre was produced by Filippo Del Giudice. Del Giudice was an Italian lawyer who left his native fascist Italy for London in 1932 and helped set up Two Cities Films in 1937. In the 1950 film Chance of a Lifetime directed by Bernard Miles, the story focuses on trade unionism and what stage the co-operative movement had reached in 1950, a few years after the reforming Labour government was elected but months before the re-election of Winston Churchill; showing that the country was oscillating between Socialism and Conservatism. Miless intelligent script was even-handed in its approach to these issues and also gave insights into the class system of the time yet did not go so far as to support the unions at the time. Alan Wood, biographer of Rank, charged the film with being â€Å"a crude form of anti-Socialist propaganda† (Wood 245). Even though critics felt the film did not go far enough into the class struggle it opened the doors for directors to comment on such issues as unemployment and the working classes. In earlier British films we had seen the working class as ‘good and decent supporting roles to the more noble upper classes (the most obvious analogy would be in the wartime Navy film where the working class would be below deck powering the ship and the upper classes above deck steering its course). Here we saw their lives at the centre of the action in great detail, told to the audience in an everyday household situation; hence the kitchen sink tag. We see events through the emotional journeys of these characters. Films like Jack Claytons Room at the Top (Remus 1 959) painted their protagonists to show that they had moved on from the hero at Normandy to an average, everyday person who wanted to make the most of their life and somehow try to improve their social position. This did not have to be solely represented in social realism, comedy crossed over as well. In John Boultings comedy Im Alright Jack (British Lion 1959) the class divide is made perfectly evident in the dispute between the workers and the owners of a factory; with the inclusion of Peter Sellers trouble-making union representative thrown in for good measure. At last the British film industry, as had the French and Italians, were producing films with a strong political and artistic background of their own that they would develop and progress into the 1960s. However, this particular notion of reality is much debated and is a problem when looking at whether film is â€Å"a product of society or that of an ideology of one director or author.† (Murphy 146) These New Wave films represented an â€Å"extremely dynamic, but short lived, period of film-making.† (Nowell-Smith 605). By 1963 London became the party capital of the world and the notoriety of ‘Swinging London and its Soho clubs and cinemas was in complete contrast to the gritty social dramas of the late 1950s. Suddenly British culture was internationally recognised. With the mass popularity of The Beatles in music, Mary Kwant in fashion and David Hockney in art people were looking towards Britain to produce films that captured the spirit of the moment: The 1960s witnessed a revitalisation of British Cinema and the emergence of a flourishing and diverse film culture after what was widely perceived to be the doldrums era of the 1950s.† (Moore-Gilbert 218). People demanded films that were not as ‘angry as the previous decade but celebrated the new possibility of social freedom. Unfortunately the money was not immediately available from British financiers and it was Hollywood that came to the rescue. The commercially successful Tom Jones, directed by Tony Richardson in 1963 was backed by United Artists and a number of American studios began investing heavily in British cinema. It is ironic that just as Hollywood saw the possibilities of exploiting British culture at the turn of the century, they were equally as deft to jump on the original ‘Cool Britannia bandwagon; leaving British investors to miss out all over again. United Artists also saw a lucrative business opportunity in Ian Flemings charismatic character James Bond. With the backing of United Artists, Terence Youngs 1963 film Dr. No, the first official What Is a GPS How Does It Work? What Is a GPS How Does It Work? Introduction to GPS The GPS also known as Global Positioning System is a global navigation system that runs on satellites that are active 24/7 (Library Of Congress, 2011). Development of the GPS was initially started by the US for military purposes; they would guide their troops and navigate them away from danger or would use this to launch missiles on a targeted area. Only recently during the early 2000s been the GPS released to the public by the US and made it free to access to anyone that owns a GPS receiver. Due to its various uses and availability the GPS started to gain popularity amongst people, in fact it has also helped in shaping the world into what it is today. The GPS system has become global and massive. It is used in most of our vehicles and smart phones to get us around its main purpose is to guide us to our location when we are lost, or for looking up a location. Like smart phones and email, this technology has become a key part of our modern day society. It has become a useful tool in our lives that we now have started to depend upon. GPS has replaced maps and has become the key tool of navigation. GPS is now also used in games and other application such as Facebook. GPS system works via detecting signals from GPS satellites located in space (Gray, 2012). The GPS system detects these signals via a GPS receiver (Bertagna, 2010). The GPS receiver detects the radio waves from satellites and then tries to find your location by calculating the time it took for the signal to reach the receiver. After calculating the time it took, it determines the location of the satellite and then determines how far it is from the satellite. By using trilateration it then calculates your location. Trilateration is a mathematical process which uses circles and triangles to calculate distance and area of a place. Common uses of GPS GPS has become a part of our daily lives ever since the US government released it to the public, our everyday devices have been equipped with GPS technology to assist us and enhance our experience (Saha, 2014) (Fortenberry, 2016). Everyday devices such as smartphones, tablets, vehicles and even packages we buy online have a small tracking device fitted in that constantly tracks its location, keeping the customer updated every minute. In fact, aeroplanes nowadays require a GPS tracker, which assists pilots in figuring out the route to their destination mid-air. This technology also helps control rooms in airports keep track of the aeroplanes current location. In fact, even passengers can view their current locations inflight through the entertainment system. Its not just aeroplanes that have inaugurated this technology but most of the vehicles being manufactured today come with a built in GPS system which helps drivers in setting a location and discovering the fastest way to reach it (Horban, 2009). This built in GPS technology also assists in tracking down stolen vehicles, which helps create a decline in car theft and gives a strong sense of security to the customer. The following graph taken from Rewire Security gives graphical evidence of a decline in car theft due to the implementation of a GPS system providing better and improved security. (Trading, 2014) Increase in GPS usage between teenagers Since GPS is now completely open for use to the public, many companies have started to develop softwares that utilize the GPS system. Most GPS softwares are found in mobile app stores these days since mobile phones are a common GPS using device. Moreover, since teenagers are often the age group that uses smartphones the most, quite a lot of the GPS apps are designed with the purpose of entertainment, which led to a huge rise of teenagers getting involved with such entertainment based apps. Entertainment apps which are booming between teenagers are mostly game or dating related (Collier, 2012) . Lets take the example of Pokà ©mon Go that came out quite recently, that game was a massive success due to the fact that it involved players leaving their house and going around different locations capturing Pokà ©mons. Pokà ©mon Gos main feature involved using a GPS tracker to track the players location as he would travel certain distances and to different areas. Pokà ©mon Go has also use d the GPS system to mark important landmarks as Pokà ©stops where players can buy items by using their points. This would not be possible without GPS technology. Whats important to consider here is how such a simple concept became very popular and addictive between teenagers, it is intriguing how a simple system that was used initially solely for the purpose of navigation has now turned into a means of entertainment. GPS systems are more often used by older teens in comparison to younger teens since parents do not give younger teens the freedom of roaming around the city since it is not safe for a child to roam around the city without parent supervision. Older teenagers however, tend to have a drivers license or some other means of transport and a lot of independence. Older teens tend to be given a lot more freedom in most parts of the world. Moreover, they often have to go to multiple places such as university, college, library and at times even their part time jobs. However, quite a lot of issues have appeared at the hands of GPS apps. Such as teens being addicted to the game Pokà ©mon Go and not caring about their own safety and walking around dangerous places. Moreover, GPS systems have also been adopted by dating apps now which has caused a lot of distress among parents. There has also been malpractice of the GPS apps at the hands of parents too. Some parents install apps which can allow them to track the location of their children via their childrens phone. This is an act of intruding a persons personal privacy. Due to how GPS trackers have various different uses, we have certain situations where we begin to question whether its really ethical to use such powerful technology in the way we have, which leads to social and ethical concerns being raised.

gatdream The Great American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream Everyone wants to be successful in life, but most often people take the wrong ways to get there. In the 1920’s the American Dream was something that everyone struggled to have. A spouse, children, money, a big house and a car meant that someone had succeeded in life. A very important aspect was money and success was determined greatly by it. This was not true in all cases however. The belief that every man can rise to success no matter what his beginnings. Jay Gatsby was a poor boy that turned into a very wealthy man, but did he live the American Dream? Money is actually the only thing that Gatsby had a lot of. Jay Gatsby tries to live the life of The American Dream, but fails in his battle. I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes – a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder. (P. 171). On his last visit to Gatsby’s house, Nick realizes that Gatsby’s belief in life and love resembles the hope and faith of those early Dutch sailors coming to America, looking forward to freedom and spiritual and material jubilation. With this in mind, we can be sure that Gatsby is the reflection of the American Dream. So, in what way is Gatsby representative of the American Dream? After people have determined their specific aspirations, they need to structure a course of actions to achieve them in order to bring their dreams to reality. For Gatsby, his dream is very easily realized, to a certain extent, by virtue of his immense ambition and idealism. As described by Nick in the novel, Gatsby has an "extraordinary gift for hope", which has never been found in any other person: If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away.

Euthanasia: Morally Right or Ethically Wrong

Euthanasia has gained a bad reputation within the public eye due to negative media encircling assisted suicide; euthanasia has a purpose and a goal, it should be seen as humanely releasing the soul of a human being from an emptiness created occasionally by our merciless society. This paper will delineate whether Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide are morally right or ethically wrong. Euthanasia is often confused with and linked to assisted suicide, definitions of the two are vital. Two viewpoints are located within the body of this paper.The first viewpoint will support euthanasia or the â€Å"right to ii,† the second viewpoint will support anti-euthanasia or the â€Å"right to live†. Each perspective shall attempt to clarify the legal, moral and ethical ramifications of euthanasia and assisted suicide as well as include a personal example of each to detail the ending results.The term euthanasia has many definitions. The Pro-Life Alliance defines euthanasia as ‘Any a ction or omission intended to end the life of a patient on the grounds that his or her life is not worth living. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society refers to the word's Greek origins – ‘e' and ‘thanks'-, which together mean ‘a good death. An updated and loosely modern definition is ‘A good death brought on by a doctor providing methods or an injection to bring a peaceful end to the ultimate process of passing on. There are three different sub-classifications of euthanasia passive euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide and active euthanasia although not all groups would acknowledge them as valid terms (BBC News, 1999).There are two main types of patients that euthanasia may aid specifically, (1 ) patients that are in a persistent vegetative state, that are awake but are not aware of one's self or of their surroundings. Such patients eave no higher brain activity and are maintained by artificial life support: respirators, heart-lung machine, and intra-veno us nutrition.These types of methods do nothing more than prolong the inevitable and sustain a person in a never-ending life that will never go anywhere beyond these machines. 2) Patients in which are bound by a terminal illness that causes them a lot of pain, psychological suffering and loss of their dignity. This patient may or may not be on life-support depending on the severity of their illness. However, there are many different types of Euthanasia that can be examined when it moms to helping someone rid him or herself of a life of unnecessary pain. Here are the different types and their definitions among society: Euthanasia generally refers to an easy or painless death, in other words merciful.Voluntary Euthanasia includes a request by the dying patient or that person's legal representative, proving their approval to continue. Passive or Negative Euthanasia involves not doing something to prevent the patience requested death, which is, allowing someone to die. Assisted suicide, a distant cousin of euthanasia, is when a person wishes to commit suicide but feels unable to execute the act alone because of a physical disability or lack of knowledge on what would be the most effective means in doing so.An individual, who assists in an assisted suicide and helps the suicide victim in accomplishing their goal, may or may not be an accessory or be held responsible for the death, depending on local laws. Without a doubt, today's dying methods has become fearsome. Physicians are now in possession of the technologies and the skills needed to avert natural death almost indefinitely. More often then not, the terminally ill suffer unnecessary pain and are kept alive without any ell hope or expectations of surviving, as families stand watch waiting for the inevitable while still holding hope at the same time.U. S. District Judge Barbara Rottenest wrote is no more profoundly personal decision, nor one which is closer to the heart of personal liberty, than the choice which a terminally ill person makes to end his or her own suffering Shilling, '94). The pro-euthanasia or â€Å"right to die† movement has received extensive support with the passage of laws in 40 states by 1990; this has allowed competent patience the legal privilege of making a â€Å"living will. These living wills give doctors the authority to withhold life-support, should the patient request it if the individual becomes terminally ill.Having choices, including having the legal right for help to die is a pinnacle of hope within itself. This allows people to take control Of their lives and accomplish things on their terms; this is a very important part of being human and of living. The issue of euthanasia is, by its very nature, a very difficult and private choice. Therefore, euthanasia should remain exactly that, a choice and a private one at that. It is a choice that should not be legislated or restricted by opposing forces or opinions.Euthanasia is a matter that should stay between the patient, the family, the doctor and God. Life is a precious gift received from the Creator with gratefulness and appreciation; individuals should cherish, preserve, and enhance life in every way possible. However, when the possibility for a meaningful, joyful, desirable life has been thoroughly depleted and every effort has been made to avoid the inevitable, then the United States should make it legal for the merciful to show mercy to the dying ho request help and understanding to end their torment.My father on my husband's side, who had cancer, received euthanasia 6 years ago. He had chemotherapy radiation; the side effects that he endured were loss of appetite, becoming lethargic, fatigue, loss of color in skin, fever, chills, weight loss, night sweats and extreme pain. They told him that it was not going into remission and that it had spread throughout his body. According to the doctors, my father in law had maybe a year at most and even then, he would have to be hosp italized due to the pain and having chemotherapy done.After achieving this information, my father opted for euthanasia instead of having to endure a year of pain and suffering with his family watching him deteriorate. So he said his goodbyes, took care of necessary business and arranged things financially for his family before the process was performed. He then had his wife and children in with him during the procedure as he received a huge dose of painkillers and then a drug, that I am not familiar with, that led him to his death painlessly.Having the opportunity to have this type of say and control over his death, think, made the process a little mother and easier to endure. He got to accomplish what many do not get the chance to accomplish, he was able to set his finances straight, make sure his loved ones were taken care of and say his goodbyes to the ones he loved. To me this was a huge relief in knowing that he was allowed to have this type of help and closure before he left t his world.I also believe that this method not only helped my father in-law but it also helped his immediate and non immediate family except the inevitable and have time to process it, so as to handle the grieving process. To some, Euthanasia is nothing less than cold- blooded killing; others would consider it premeditated murder and consider those assisting in it an accessory to murder. In addition, they believe Euthanasia steals away the one thing that gives us a reason for existence, a life in which we choose to live. It also depreciates life, much like the enormous issue of abortion.People against Euthanasia, deem it as morally and ethically wrong and think the government should outlaw it in these United States. It is true that modern medicine has evolved excessively throughout the enervation, so much so that abolitionists' believe that euthanasia in itself resets these medical advances back by years. Our Surgical Physicians alone are known as Administrators of Death; this is a s ide effect of the outcome of euthanasia. Some believe that euthanasia is unacceptable within our society because of a multitude of reasons.Many who are against euthanasia being legalized are apprehensive because they dread that if it is then there will be many who die for needless reasons and they believe that there will be a rampage of â€Å"mercy killings† going on as an excuse for murder. Others believe that it is and always will be an immoral thing to take one's life from them when we were not the ones to give it to them. Also many medical physicians also oppose euthanasia because they say that in assisting one in suicide is violating our dignity and ‘litotes one's will to survive.When it comes to doctors, there is also The Hippocratic Oath in which they need to take into consideration. The Oath of Hippocrates is believed to have originated in approximately the fifth century B. C. And, even then, it incorporated a specific ledge against physician-assisted suicide wh en it said, â€Å"l will give no deadly medicine to anyone, even if asked. † It is recommended that a person suffering from an incurable or terminal illness is not completely in command of their mental capabilities and thereby incapable of such an extraordinary decision.In addition, a degraded mental capacity within a patient rules out any realistic thinking concerning survivors. Euthanasia is a very contentious topic. People dispute whether a person who is terminally ill, or handicap, should have the right or not to ask their doctor, or relatives to die by euthanasia. People say that dying by euthanasia is to die with self-respect, instead of living an artificial life by prolonging death on respirators and other life support machines. My personal outlook on this matter is one of minority.I believe that if a person is diagnosed terminally ill, and finds that there is nothing anyone can do for them, then why they should have to suffer and endure days, weeks, months or maybe ev en years in pain and agony is beyond me. Not only do they suffer but their family suffers alongside them also. They watch as their condition gets worse and continues to deteriorate, ND then they have to live with the vision of a person lying there helpless, not able to feed themselves, get out of bed, or talk to them for the rest of their lives.When instead they could have lived remembering their loved one as they were before they were diagnosed as terminally ill and began to die slowly. Recently, my grandmother, who was suffering from Alchemist's disease (AD), died in my Aunts guest bedroom where she had been staying and taken care of by my aunt and uncle for the last four years of her life. My grandmother lived in England, where she was born, raised and died, she did tot have the option of euthanasia nor did my aunt or uncle who struggled with her through the end.My aunt and uncle went through the pain emotionally before it ever affects my grandmother physically. They took care of a shell for four years that use to house their mother; we lost my grandmother in 2007 spiritually however her physical body was still active and with us but empty. My grandmother could not remember any of her children or her grandchildren, nor could she remember family and friends in general. She would fight my aunt and uncle all the time thinking that they had detained her because she had no idea who they were or where she was.She had caused harm to herself as well as family members that tried to help her or care for her. She eventually forgot how to do simple things that are second nature to us all, such as showering, brushing her teeth, combing her hair and dressing herself. She continued to deteriorate more and more over the years, to the point where she had forgotten how to do vital things such as walk, eat, drink, go to the bathroom and even communicate. She was not physically in pain until the point of forgetting the vital actions, then she began o dehydrate and starve, her body began to shut down due to this.She was then attached to a feeding tube and life support, as by that point she had also just stop breathing occasionally and needed help in doing so. She stayed on life support for 6 months, until the decision was made to take her off and then she lasted for a week as her body withered away due to lack of water and food. We were reassured that she died with no pain but the look on her face showed differently and I could only imagine what she might have gone through and what We could have possibly spared her had We had the option f euthanasia.With every example given of euthanasia, there are some people who agree, and some who are dead set against it. There are comprehensible and logical reasons why some people are against euthanasia. Most people want their loved ones with them until their day has actually come for them to die. It might give people an understanding that it is all right to kill oneself. While the patient is lying in bed, some clinic , or scientist, might find a cure for the very disease that said patient is dying from and be able to cure them.For medical reasons they may be able to find out more about a retain disease to be able to further the search for the cure while someone has it. As many times, as you consider the idea of euthanasia you will find just as many pros as cons. Maybe we have to Start thinking like the people in the hospital beds, who are unable to walk, talk, feed themselves, think for themselves, or even breathe for themselves. On the other hand, even from the perspective of the family members who have to watch their own flesh and blood suffer and dwindle into nothing right before their eyes?

BASF

BASF is an expanding and growing chemical company that is based world wide.   With growing recognition for their products, BASF has been expanding and reaching a wider market place then in the past.   The major change for BASF was the take over of American Cyanamid and Takeda companies.   BASF has managed to focus its efforts on non-cyclical products to broaden its market base and increase the company’s growth potential globally.   The diversification and innovative technologies used by BASF has enabled it to sustain a large market presence, particularly in the non-cyclical product areas such as vitamins, crop protection, petrochemicals and plastics and fibers. In the past, vitamin companies were involved in a scandal with price fixing.   The scandal resulted in a loss in the market for all natural vitamins and many pharmaceutical products.   When BASF took over American Cyanamid the companies were able to produce herbicides that were competitive in price and betterment of crops.   Using this new process enabled BASF to get a jump on the vitamin competitors because the company was offering modified crops that were resilient against plant diseases, mildew and other harmful environmental factors. With the higher yielding plants, BASF is able to derive natural and quality ingredients needed to produce the vitamins and other pharmaceutical products.   Global competitors such as Roche have been challenged and no longer can claim the majority of the market with BASF’s innovative technologies as the new competition. In addition to the takeover of Cyanamid, BASF also took over the vitamin business from Takeda.   With the takeover, BASF has managed to capture the markets in Europe, North American and Asia.   Plans are being integrated for BASF to eventually takeover the pharmaceutical division of Takeda.   With the proposed changes, BASF could potentially corner the market on pharmacy drugs to compliment its already strong market presence for the vitamin industry. With growth and innovative technologies, BASF has been able to increase its market value for the vitamins and pharmaceuticals while decreasing the operating costs for the products.   This change in growth instills an even stronger presence in the market place for BASF.   Many of the primary ingredients that go into vitamins and nutritional supplements are produced by BASF thus reducing cost and making the company yield higher volumes of the products. In addition to crop protection, pharmaceutical plans and vitamin mergers, BASF has also focused its attention on the sale of petrochemicals.   BASF merged as a very strong market force for its colorants and finished products used in the automotive industry.   In this division of BASF record sells were achieved and anticipated to only increase in the following months and years.  Ã‚  Ã‚   BASF colors are of lasting quality and used as the primary protective coating for car dealers.   In addition, petrochemicals created by BASF have been used as safe and environmental friendly cleaning agents. Complimenting the development of environmentally friendly and easily disposable petrochemicals, BASF has used its innovative technologies to capture a wide range of the plastics and fibers market.   Many of BASF plastic and fibers are used as household products as well as in major companies.   Many of the plastic and fiber products manufactured by BASF are used for safe and quality packaging materials.   BASF focuses its efforts on producing plastics and fibers that are cost efficient to use for packaging materials as well as biodegradable has given BASF a jump on the market competitors for this part of the global market. As BASF continues to expand its resources into producing innovative and environmental friendly products, BASF is sure to do nothing but grow as a company.   Instead of focusing its investments and technologies strictly in one area, the company’s diversity enables BASF to obtain a substantial amount of profits in its non-cyclical parts of its operations. The company’s growth has been boosted tremendously.   The protection of crops, vitamin and pharmacy mergers, marketing of petrochemicals and increased environmentally friendly plastics and fibers has enabled BASF to not only be a diversified but also a competitive global company within the market place.   

College Decision Day How To Notify Colleges

College Decision Day How To Notify Colleges SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’ve applied to colleges, received acceptances, and selected the college you want to attend, then congratulations! You’ve done considerable work and made it through the college application and selection process. With May 1, also known as College Decision Day, just around the corner, how do you notify the college you’ve selected that you’ll be attending? How do you let the other colleges that admitted you know that you won’t? Do you even have to let them know? In this article, I’ll explain how to accept an offer of admission and why it’s important to notify the colleges you won’t be attending of your decision. How to Accept an Offer of Admission The process to accept an offer of admission can vary for each college. On your acceptance notice, there should be explicit instructions of what you need to do to accept the offer. Also, you may be able to find information on the college’s website about how to accept your offer of admission.Look under â€Å"admissions† to find any relevant information.For example, here’s the information for Stanford and Penn State. And here’s how you accept an offer of admission fromUCLA. Typically, everything can be done online and it’s a relatively simple process.If you have any questions, call the admissions office. The admissions representatives should be more than happy to help you, especially because you're a future student. Most schools will require you to submit a deposit when you accept your offer of admission.The deposit ranges from about $50-$500.If you receive financial aid, you may have a portion of your deposit or your entire deposit waived. If you’re unable to afford the deposit, contact the admissions office to see if they can make any accommodations for you.The deposit is generally non-refundable. If you apply under regular decision, most colleges will give you until May 1, commonly referredto as College Decision Day, to make your decision.If you’re accepted after May 1, then you’ll probably only be given a few days to a few weeks to make your decision. Submit all necessary deposits and forms before the deadline. Why Should You Notify Schools That You’re Declining Their Offer of Admission? Colleges like to know whether or not you’re attending so they can fill the available spots in the class.If you’re not attending, they may be able to offer your spot to somebody who is on the waitlist. However, colleges don’t anticipate that everyone who is accepted will attend; they admit more students than there are available spaces. Therefore, just because you decline an offer of admission doesn’t mean that somebody else will be admitted off the waitlist. Also, it’s common courtesy to notify colleges that you’re declining their offer, especially because members of the admissions committee took the time to look through your application and decided to accept you. If you don’t notify a school that accepts you that you’re not attending, that would be like if a school that rejected you didn’t inform you that you had been rejected. Furthermore, colleges may want to know which college you decided to attend. Colleges often keep statistics on schools that students will attend over theirs. They want to remain competitive with these schools, so this information can help them make positive changes to increase their yield, which is the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend. If you want to know how to decline an offer of admission, colleges will often give you instructions on how to notify them that you won’t be attending in their acceptance letters or on their websites.For many schools, you can view your application status online, and if you’re accepted, you can simply select whether you’ll be accepting or declining an offer of admission. If there’s no specific online form or instructions to let a school know that you’re declining an offer of admission, you can email the admissions office, or you can go old-school and send a letter to the admissions office. Recap Look at your acceptance notice for information about what to do next if you’re accepting an offer of admission. If you’re confused or have any questions, contact the admissions office. Make sure to make your decision and submit any necessary forms and deposits by the deadline. For most of you, thedeadline will be College Decision Day, May 1. If you’re declining an offer of admission, let the college know. What's Next? If you're just starting the college application process, learn how to apply to college. If you're deciding which college to go to, check out this post on how to choose a college. Finally, make sure you're researching colleges to ensure that you end up at the college that's best for you. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Friedrich Nietzsche's On The Genealogy of Morals Essay

Nietzsches Genealogy of Morality - Essay Example From this paper, it is clear that according to Nietzsche (57), morality no longer guides people but there are forced by different legal circumstances to behave in a given way. In this essay, the writer will try to evaluate and analyze the genealogy of morality as noted by Nietzsche (57). Understanding genealogy of morality is a great way for people to look back and gauge where they went wrong in reference to bad ethics and morals in the society. Nietzsche makes an assertion that one becomes forced to admit that legal conditions could be nothing other than means to create larger units of power (Nietzsche 57). He attacks the ideas that morality is selfless, the idea that suffering can be interpreted as rightful punishment to whoever experiences it because it sharpens their thinking on a given subject. He also argues on the conception of free will that involves the idea that agents could act differently from what they did (Nietzsche 57). Free will, even as anchored on the Holy Bible that God gave His people a free will to choose between what is right and wrong, is a big challenge to the society in reference to the decaying morals. The moral decay happens because people no longer adhere to any traditional customs that guide their ethics and morals because they are free to choose and behave any way they want despite societal values. He talks about a privileging of ‘slave values such as humility and devaluation of those such as pride and audacity, and the conception that morality involves obligations with unconditional obligations and that it is universally applicable or binding. Morality should be upheld at all instances, and governments should institute measures that will boost good morality for their citizens.

Water Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Water Pollution - Essay Example Oxygen levels required to decompose this waste is called biological oxygen demand .a large amount of biological oxygen demand is required to decompose industrial wastes and because of their profit maximization motive the opt dispose in water to reduce cost of treatment. The wastes when directed to water bodies always have catastrophic effects on marine and human life. The second type of pollutant is excessive nutrition. This is common in agricultural where agricultural runoffs and non biodegradable detergents contaminate water. This facilitates growth of phytoplankton. The autophication process results in large dissolved oxygen from photosynthesis during the day and over utilization of oxygen for respiratory purposes during the night. This causes deficiency of oxygen in water leading to massive death of aquatic animals. Suspended solids are also another type of pollution in this 21st century. This is prevalent where land has been disturbed by plowing or excavation. Ground up wood fibers can also be classified in this category of suspended solid pollution. There are over 65000 industrial chemicals in use in the modern world .3-5 new chemical s enter the market every day .the major classes of chemicals which are harmful and find their way through to water sources are ammonia, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, and detergents.(Heath A.G,1995) Another type of water pollution is microbiological pollution. This is natural form of pollution caused by microorganisms. They include e bacteria, viruses and protozoa. They are the major cause of illness in human being and animals. (Canter w. L and knot 1985) Human activities have negative impact and contribute greatly in water pollution. Industrial waste form the largest percentage of water pollution .nuclear waste produced from industrial, medical and scientific process that use radioactive materials can be very harmful when they find they way to water