Czech Republic EU

Czech Republic EU Czech Republic is strategically located at the center of Europe. After the fall of Soviet Union and the end of communism in Czech republic after the velvet revolution there was a considerable growth in the field of economic and industrial area. When the Czech Republic joined into EU and CEC it attracted a lot of investments form the foreign investors. The Czech economic GPD has increased gradually from 3.5 in 2004 to 4.1 in 2005.Along with the countrys strategic location in central of Europe, its low-cost structure and skilled work force have also attracted strong inflows of foreign direct investment. This investment is rapidly modernizing its industrial base and increasing productivity. Before the liberalization of the Czech economy, majority of the companies were mostly run by the state government and had little investments from the outside world. The production level of Czech also reduced and compared with its neighbors. The Czech Republic boasts a flourishing consumer production sector. In the early 1990s most state-owned industries were privatized through a voucher privatization system. Every citizen was given the opportunity to buy, for a moderate price, a book of vouchers that he or she could exchange for shares in state-owned companies. State ownership of businesses was estimated to be about 97% under communism. The non-private sector is less than 20% today. With the liberation of economy and the nod form the government to FDI the Czech economy and its trade balance gradually increased to 3 billion Euros. The GDP and per capita increased staidly. In order to increase the FDI investments the government offered investment incentives in order to enhance the Czech Republics natural advantages, thereby attracting foreign partners and stimulating the economy. Shifting emphasis from the East to the West has necessitated adjustment of commercial laws and accounting practices to fit Western standards. Formerly state-owned banks have all been privatized into the hands of west European banks and oversight by the central bank has improved. The telecommunications infrastructure has been upgraded. The Czech Republic has made significant progress toward creating a stable and attractive climate for investment, although continuing reports of corruption are troubling to investors.(Czech Republic 2003) As Czech Republic has joined the EU in may 2004, most of the foreign investors and leading multinational companies invested huge amount of money into it. The companies like SAB Millers, Volkswagen, and Tesco acquired the companies of Czech Republic and were able to invest more amounts of money and technology into them. With higher competition among the local and foreign companies, the local companies were able to improve its qualities and have an opportunity to compete with them in the global market. When SAB miller acquired the local leading Czech brewing company Plzensky Prazdroj it brought along with it technology which helped it to generate more amount of quantity. As Czech Republic in centrally placed in Europe and it is a member of EU gave SAB miller a foothold in the European market. This also brought good revenues for the local producers and suppliers. There was a steady demand for the local products. Likewise when Czech automaker Skoda was acquired by the German automobile giant Volkswagen, it not only entered a new market but it also helped Skoda to invest more funds into its new technological researchs.The result was that the profits of Skoda gradually jumped from 209 Million dollars to 6.65 billion dollars in a span of time. The operational strategies are made on the day to day basic of the companies at local functional levels. Effective organizational strategies success will only occur depending on the performance of the company. Resources and workforce play a major role at the success of operational strategy. Even though Volkswagen completely owns Skoda it does not make the interference in the management style. With the help of Volkswagen Skoda was able to become a major brand, Skoda were able to position them selves to compete with major car brands. With the help of Volkswagen Skoda was able to use new technologies for better communication with its suppliers and distributors. As Volkswagen being a parent organization of Skoda it does has a major say in its marketing and operational strategies, in designs in order to keep the competitive advantage over its competitors. In the case of SAB millers which is the parent company of Plzensky Prazdroj the production and managerial strategies are held by the ch ild company where as the marketing and decision making strategies are done by the parent company. All the decisions about the production and buying of raw materials are held with Plzensky in order to continue with its old tradition and local heritage. As Kim and Mauborgne (2005) said the creation of a strategy is about providing value its buyers along with reducing the costs will help them have a competitive advantage over its competitors. With help of just in time strategy Skoda was able to have economic scale gains. Skoda was able to create a new market space in Czech and Europe through its cost efficient methods. As in the case of ZVVZ as which had a tough competition with Enven in its local market, they acquired it and were able to reduce the competition. ZVVZ was able to successfully able to create a market for its own in the environmental products. As it has no competitors they ensured that they give high perceived value to its customers at a lower prices, to make do this they reduced the cost by outsourcing the logistics. Kim and Maubroge (2005) point out that to have a competitive advantage over its competitors a firm has to successfully align with cost, utility and price potions. Pilsners rural locations enable them to brew and procure raw materials at a very cheap price. And in order to minimize the costs pilsners also utilized the water from theits local stream. Thus they are focused on customer satisfaction they have more customer base. By using proper value innovation companies try to have a competitive advantage over its competitors , Pilsner a brewing company did not use any value innovation in its strategies. Even in the case of Skoda until Volkswagen acquired them they had no proper value innovation. In case of ZVVZ it created new markets and new products lines by effectively utilizing value innovation technique. This ensured that ZVVZ has major competitive advantage over its competitors and ensured them to be a market leader. As the competition among the major companies is increasing, there has been a major impact on the organizational cultures with comparisons to local companies and its parents companies. The positive impacts can been seen at Skoda where the distance between employees and management is high and always ensured for the better performance of the company. Independent decisions are taken at managerial level to have positive results. How ever in some cases the employees were not comfortable this power distance, which lead them to have high risk and uncertainty and due to this there are more misunderstandings among the management and employees. In this case employees were not able to make decisions which lead to having confusion also led to the failures of the companies. In conclusion Czech economy had been able to transfer itself from being a centralized economy to a free economy. The foreign direct investment ensured that Czech economy jumped from a small to very big economy with the help of FDI the local companies were able to invest heavy money into its research departments, which resulted in huge gains for the company. Czech strategic location which is at the center of Europe ensured that major investments are poured into it. References David A. Grvin (1992) Operation strategy . Prentice Hall international England. Kim, C.W., and Mauborgne, R. (2004) Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business Review [online]. pp 76-84, [cited on 30th April 2008]. Accessed via Ebscohost. Krajewski L, Ritzman L(1998) Operation managements 5th edition , Addison Wesley , England. Slack N, Chambers S, Johnston R (1995) , operations management 5th edition , Prentice hall, England.

Sony Company Limited

Sony Company Limited Business Environment Analysis 1.0 Introduction Sony Company Limited is a manufacturer and distributor of digital cameras and other electronic devices in the region. The company has been established in 2005 by its owner The primary competitive advantages of Sony is its OEM capability, broad experienced in its research and development department, reliability, large product line and good reputation. The brand name of the company is known as ECA and it is currently exported in major countries like North America, Mid-East/Africa, Asia, Central/South America, and Western Europe. Sony Company Limited is an ODM and OEM manufacturer to produce different ranges of electronic devices like digital cameras, MP4 and mp3 player, mobile phone, GPS car navigator and digital camcorder. The main objective of this company is to provide quality products and services to the global market. 2.0 Strategic Analysis The description of the industry above suggests its strength in the Malaysia setting. However, a more detailed analysis is necessary in order to determine the real strengths and possible problems that surround the industry. For this purpose, various tools will be used to analyze the electronic industry of Malaysia. 2.1 PESTLE PESTLE analysis is in effect an audit of an organizations environmental influences with the purpose of using this information to guide strategic decision-making. The assumption is that if the organization is able to audit its current environment and assess potential changes, it will be better placed than its competitors to respond to changes.To help make decisions and to plan for future events, organizations need to understand the wider ‘meso-economic and ‘macro-economic environments in which they operate. (The meso-economic environment is the one in which we operate and have limited influence or impact, the macro-environment includes all factors that influence an organization but are out of its direct control). An organization on its own cannot affect these factors, nor can these factors directly affect the profitability of an organization. But by understanding these environments, it is possible to take the advantage to maximize the opportunities and minimize the threats to the organization. Conducting a strategic analysis entails scanning these economic environments to detect and understand the broad, long term trends. A PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding the ‘big picture of the environment in which an organization is operating. Specifically a PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market (the need for a product or service) growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for an individual business or organization. A PESTLE analysis is often used as a generic orientation tool, finding out where an organization or product is in the context of what is happening outside that will at some point affect what is happening inside an organization. The six elements form a framework for reviewing a situation, and can also be used to review a strategy or position, direction of a company, a marketing proposition, or idea. 2.1.1 Political The political aspect of the country has less impact to its business sector, or more specifically, to the electronics industry. The Basic Law of the country actually protects it from major transitions in law in spite of its transfer to Thailand. Through this basic law, the way of life as well as the capitalist system of the country will remain the same for fifty years since the transfer. Thus, political factors have minimal effects on the electronics industry. The production, export and import of materials for digital cameras will not be affected for the next ten years due to this political agreement. Hence, the production facilities for digital products situated in Thailand will not be forced to relocate back to Malaysia due to regulative measures. Hence, Malaysia enterprises in the industry can continue to benefit from low cost production in Thailand. 2.1.2 Economic The economy of Malaysia is highlighted by the status of its international trade. The country is one of the leading trading nations worldwide; hence, it is one of the important aspects of the countrys economy. Malaysia market has been favorable to trade and has been efficient in balancing its exports and imports. The significance of trade in the country suggests the richness of its other related fields such as the electronics industry. This has been evidenced by the high contribution of digitalized products to individual company sales and overall economic development. The important role of the electronics industry in Malaysia suggests that there are several similar businesses that exist in the country. Due to high levels of competition, the companies operating in this industry are placed under much stress of offering the very best. This also implies the significance of strategic management among these companies not only to contribute to the economy, but most importantly to maintain strong business foundation as well as combat competition. Assuming that the prosperity of the economy in Malaysia improves for the next ten years, the electronics/AV equipment industry will then continue to improve and acquire various developments. But then of course, economic status is among the most unpredictable aspects of a country; hence, the industry must be prepared for future challenges that may arise. These future challenges include economic crisis, price fluctuations and problems on international trade. 2.1.3 Social The societal and cultural background of the country is mainly influenced by the Eastern and Western influences. This perhaps, is partly due to the status of the country as a major center for business and trade. Although the country is greatly influenced by a number of different cultures, the country still has its old features intact. While keeping old traditions and cultural practices, the country is also open to changes brought about by international influences. This in turn makes the nations culture rich and varied. The prosperity of Malaysias economy is significantly reflected in its citizens lifestyle. Compared to other Asian countries, the people in Malaysia are among those who live with the highest standards. This implies that the people of Malaysia have access to some of the finer things in life, including technology. 2.1.4 Technological Malaysia is a melting pot of both Western and Eastern backgrounds. The Western and Eastern influences that make up the countrys socio-cultural background play a significant role to its current technological status. Considering that Malaysia has direct access to technological developments from different countries worldwide, these can be adapted in the country quite easily. Moreover, the high standards of living among the countrys citizens imply the ability of the people to support technology as well as their ability to apply or implement them. The exposure to technology of both local and international market makes digital products, like camera, a marketable product. 2.1.5 Legal Locally, the political aspect mentioned previously does not seem to affect the electronic industry in Malaysia. In international trade, the laws on open trade and free port allow the industry to exports its digital products to foreign markets. Though the Malaysian industry can distribute its digital products freely abroad, the openness of trade as well as the globalization aspect further worsens the competition among similar companies under the same industry. If competition will affect businesses in the industry, it is likely for other nations to implement legislations that will control the entry of imported products. This will greatly affect the status of the Malaysia industry if this will occur. 2.1.6 Environmental One of the major issues under the environmental aspect that directly affects the industry is probably its location of production building and facilities in Thailand. The cost of labor and land in Thailand, particularly in the province of Bangkok, is significantly cheaper than in Malaysia. Thus, it is more practical to conduct the core activities of the electronics industry in Thailand. However, products produced by the AV industry require skills among its work force. Thus, cheaper labor cost may no longer be possible as companies would have to pay larger salaries for skilled and highly educated employees. Moreover, a number of manufacturing companies are also relocating to Thailand, thus land costs tend to be higher as compared before. 3.0 Competitors Analysis The production of digitalized products falls under the electronics company, specifically under the audio-visual equipment category. In Malaysia, the competition in electronics industry is considered as one of the most vigorous and tough. The manufacturing companies of digital cameras and other electronic devices in Malaysia are made up of SMEs or small and medium sized enterprises. The production facilities however of most companies are located in mainland Thailand. Thus, offices in Malaysia concentrate more on product development, quality assurance and marketing. One of the competitors of Sony Company Limited in Malaysia market is the Canon industry and other industries that offer digital cameras and electronic products all over the world such as JVC, Panasonic and others. According to the NSTP (2007), digitalization trends paved the way for the industrys significant development which makes it digital camera and electronic industry more competent. In addition, the company has many rivals since there are many other competitors which provide a wide range of digital and electronic devices to meet the increasing demands of these products. Players have increased considerably. This business trend led to the increased profit derived from high sales of digital products, suggesting the strong chances of success in the industry. Moreover, profits from exported digitalized products are high in Hong Kong as well. This then implies that international market strongly supports the industry. 4.0 Porters 5 Forces Model Michael Porter (Harvard, Competitive Strategy 1980) developed the so called 5 Five Forces Analysis model to better identify factors that shape the character of competition, to assess the structural attractiveness and business value of any industry and to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in a company. In addition to and in combination with the SWOT analysis, the Five Forces model by Michael Porter provides another analysis tool to identify opportunities and risks when entering untapped territory in any industry or market. Porters Five Forces model, other than a SWOT analysis, provides clear action and thus does not rely solely on subjective judgment. If the actions that derived from the Five Forces model are synchronized with business requirements and goals it can become a substantial business driver in the competitive environment. Porters Five Forces Model is used for analysis of an industry or pure competition within a market. It is likely the best model to be used in decisions of entry or change within a market, and should always be considered during the business planning stage in a company life cycle. The Porters Five Forces model proposes that an industry is influenced by five forces. An executive can use the model to understand the industry competitive landscape, to determine how and where the firm should operate. The model is also used to analyze the attractiveness of an industry structure. Porters Five Forces Model is also known as Porters Competitive Forces model, probably one of the most often used business strategy tools. It has proven its usefulness on numerous occasions. Porters model is particularly strong in thinking in a competitive mindset from external forces to inside the company. 4.1 Methodology The strength of each of the five forces affecting competition in the chosen industry is to be assessed. The companys position compared to the underlying causes of each force is also assessed. A plan of action is devised that may includes of positioning the organization to provide the best defense against competitive forces, influencing the balance of the forces through strategic moves and other pro-active measures and anticipating shifts in the forces and positioning the organization and its goals and actions accordingly. Exhibit 4.1 Michael Porters Five Forces Model Sources from: Supplier Risk Management and the Automotive Supply Chain From the Exhibit 4.1, Porter explains that there are five forces that determine industry attractiveness and long-run industry profitability. These five competitive forces includes the threat of entry of new competitors (new entrants), the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the degree of rivalry between existing competitors. While the Porters Five Forces model in regards to decision making, is to collect, analyze and present data for the decision maker, Porter identifies three generic strategies to address industry rivalry. Strategies can be formed on three levels such as corporate, business unit and functional or department level. The Strategies are cost leadership, differentiation and competitive advantage. The best decision will position the firm to leverage strengths and defend against adverse effects of the five forces. 4.1.1 Competitive Threat of New Entry The percentage contribution of the industry to the Malaysian economy suggests the huge number of businesses manufacturing digital products. This then suggests that barriers of entry for new business entrants are low. New business could easily operate locally; moreover, the Malaysian industry offers multiple product lines under different brand names. Hence, competition is rather strict. Moreover, most of the business in the electronics industry is considered SMEs, implying that the levels of small businesses or new entrants are high. With the high availability of digital production facilities, new entrants could easily start manufacturing and marketing digital products. 4.1.2 Competition from Substitute Products With the rise of technology, alternative options for gadget and similar products are very much available. Digital cameras and other products are no exception. At present, cellular phones are manufactured with camera features, allowing consumers to use the phone not only for calling or sending text messages, but also in capturing and storing images. Other video camcorders have camera features as well; thus, some consumers would prefer to but an item where all features are already integrated. Web cameras are also alternative products for digital cameras. In addition, some of these alternative products are less expensive and more practical as compared to buying a digital camera alone. 4.1.3 Bargaining Power of Customers Buyers are the people or organizations who create demand in an industry. Buyers are also the people who compete with the supplying industry by bargaining down prices and forces higher quality. Customers have access to multiple alternatives for AV equipment and products, thus, the customers have greater control over which item to purchase. The high competitiveness within the industry allowed consumers to have access to a number of options, from brands to types and prices of products. Thus, consumers have a high bargaining power over the electronics industry. In this case, the smaller enterprises are greatly affected. Although consumers have different purchasing behaviors, in most cases brand names greatly influences the preferences of buyers. If there will be other options, consumers is likely to buy known brands even if they will have to pay extra. Additionally, online shopping through this company website has also increased the bargaining power of buyers and buyers are more price sensitive and demand for high quality. 4.1.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers are the businesses that supply materials other products into the industry. The cost of items bought from suppliers (e.g. raw materials, components) can have a significant impact on a companys profitability. If suppliers have high bargaining power over a company, then in theory the companys industry is less attractive. For this electronic industry, suppliers actually exert power in the industry by threatening to rise in prices or to reduce its quality and furthermore powerful suppliers can squeeze industry profitability if the company is unable to recover the cost increases. In the case of the Malaysian electronics industry, the bargaining power of the suppliers is high. Most of the materials used for producing AV equipment are imported from suppliers, thus they have greater control over the prices of supplies as well as the delivery. 4.1.5 Rivalry The rivalry within the electronics industry comes in two categories. Locally, the main competition is between the small and large enterprises. Major companies in the electronics industry have stronger brand names and have greater capabilities of reaching the international market. This is a significant factor as brand names in digital products represent the overall quality of the item which consumers are after. Major companies also have more resources to promote the product through more expensive forms of media advertisement. Thus, smaller companies are directly affected. In the international level, the rivalry exists between the Hong Kong companies and the major AV equipment companies of other countries. 5.0 Evaluation Based from the environmental and competitive analysis done for the electronics industry, the findings will then be evaluated. In this section, the possible developments of the industry for the next ten years will be considered. Factors that could affect this progress, both positively and negatively, will be cited. 5.1 Optimistic Based on the analysis done, the Sony Company Limited is likely to succeed and progress in ten years time due to two important factors. One of these factors is the market of the industry. At the local level, the consumers are very much aware and exposed to highly technological gadgets such as the digital camera. In other foreign markets of the Malaysian industry, such trend is also evident. In ten years time, technology will continue to grow and introduce high-tech gadgets and products that people will patronize. Thus, the future development of digitalized products made by Sony Company Limited will be supported by the market due to their openness to technology. Moreover, this market patronage will naturally result to continuous profit generation and market growth. Another factor that will contribute to the success of the Sony Company Limited ten years from now is the continuous rise and development of globalization and open trade. Through these aspects, Malaysia will have greater market access abroad, leading to better market and business outcomes. Furthermore, free port will allow the Sony Company Limited access to more modern technologies that can be useful for manufacturing and marketing digitalized products. This in turn will make the Sony Company Limited more competitive against foreign brands. 5.2 Pessimistic While there are great opportunities that the Sony Company Limited can use for future progress, certain obstacles could hinder it from development. For instance, the use of technology is highly accessible to all potential business operators in the industry, increasing the problems on competition, less distinct products and brands. In addition, technological gadgets like digital cameras lose value at a fast rate; thus, it is likely that such innovations would lose their worth to the market, or worse, this product could be phased out totally form the industry and be replaced with better substitutes. Problems in the economy are also a challenge. Crisis in the economic aspect is omnipresent and difficult to predict; hence, it is always a problem for all industries and business sectors. Due to these problems, prices for labor, land, production and other business activities could increase, making it difficult for the industry to succeed. 5.3 Prediction Based on business outcomes in the past, the pessimistic scenario is the one that is likely to occur in the future. Old electronic products like mobile phones, cameras and computers for instance, had been easily replaced by digital ones due to fast-phased development in technology. At present, several companies in the electronics industry are still conducting researches in order to introduce new technologies that the market demands. In addition, economic crisis is a natural occurrence, though an unpredictable one. Thus, even without predicting when this will happen in the future, businesses attempt to overcome the effects of economic challenges by preparing themselves in advance. Although it is likely for the optimistic scenario to occur as well, businesses in this industry must focus themselves on overcoming the worst scenarios. By preparing in advance, the businesses can prevent further problems in the future as well as maintain the progress of the industry. 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS In my opinion, this electronic industry is still able to make some improvements in order to achieve better profit margins or great success in future. Those improvements includes the following, 1) Diversification This electronic industry (Sony Company Limited) can actually possible to concentrate more on electronic knows how in the non-consumer business and todays, this industry is very competitive as the competitors are able to copy the product in a very short time. Therefore, in order to create larger profit margins, Sony should focus more on the business sector and industries and also more advanced equipment as well as the parts. Besides, it would create the strongest advantage if the Research and Development (RD) department in this company able to cut down the price in technology adaptation to fit the demands of nowadays market. 2) Cost Cutting Sony Company Limited should take cost cutting into consideration as it is the only way to improve the profit margins. Research and Development (RD) plays an important role in this as its part in success of this company and it cannot be cut even though it gobbles up to ten percent of the sales. The products in this company should be refined instead of reinvented in order to have less in set up cost and also helps in achieving the greater automation. 3) Combination of Production, Design and Marketing There are many ways of separating the designing and developing of a product from the production and marketing even though there is job rotation which the design stage backed up by experience rather than research and analysis in nowadays market. Often, this kind of concept does not help much in improving the business as it does not meet the consumer needs. Todays, RD should focus more on the consumer needs and innovate based on the needs of the market and not creating new markets all the while. Besides, the designing team should make the product to fit the current production pattern and marketing aims as the designing team is the one who responsible to the profit and loss of certain product. Therefore, empowering these groups can create conflict but it does bring the efficient groups together in achieving the synergy. 7.0 Conclusion In spite of the apparent success of the Sony Company Limited in Malaysia, certain factors in its environment can cause its possible failure in the years to come. Economic challenges, competition and varying consumer trends are just some of the external factors that the industry must overcome in order to ensure future progress. Although these matters may appear inevitable, certain actions could help the industry to succeed, locally and internationally. Continuous product enhancement and development for instance, can help in countering fast-paced technology. Conducting consumer studies on the other hand can facilitate the challenge on changing consumer behaviors. These actions in turn can help in combating business competition and globalization issues. 8.0 References Internet References 1. http://technu.nst.com.my/Current_News/techNu/Monday/CoverStory/20081102144739/Article/print_article 2. http://logisticsviewpoints.com/2009/07/31/supplier-risk-management-and-the-automotive-supply-chain/ Books Aguilar, Francis (2006), Scanning the Business Environment, New York: Macmillan. 2. Armstrong. M. (2006). A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London: Kogan Page. ISBN 0-7494-4631-5. PIERCE, C. (2001), The Effective Director: The Essential Guide to Director and Board Development, London: Kogan Page. Cheverton, Peter. (2004), Key Marketing Skills Strategies, Tools Techniques for Marketing Success, Kogan Page, Limited. Formisano, Roger. (2003), Managers Guide to Strategy. McGraw-Hill Trade SIM337 Contemporary Developments in Business and Management, Version 5.0, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom Jones, G.R. George, J.M. (2003), Contemporary Management, McGraw Hill (Third edition) Worthington, I. and Britton, C. (2003), The Business Environment, FT Prentice Hall (4th Edition) Journal Articles GRUNDY, T. (2006) Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model. Strategic Change. Vol 15, No 5, August. Pg 213-229. Prepared by : Ting Wan Ping (Jenny)

How Lomax and Fellow Prisoners are Treated Essay -- Prison Alan Lomax

How Lomax and Fellow Prisoners are Treated In this essay I will be looking at ways in which Lomax conveys how he and his fellow prisoners are treated here in this passage from the book. To show evidence of this I will select quotes which show choices of form, style, vocabulary and narrative viewpoint. Overall I aim to highlight the ways in which the attitudes and values are conveyed to the reader. Lomax Perfectly describes his transition from a P.O.W camp to Outram Gail. 'What our captors were in fact doing was consigning us to a lower circle of hell'. This extremely poignant statement shows use of imagery in a way that stands out to the reader. He uses 'lower circle of hell', which is a simile to emphasize the absurdity of prisoners being sent to Gail. Lomax goes on to describe the horrible neglect that prisoners of Outram road were experiencing. 'This was a place in which the living were turned into ghosts, starved, diseased creatures wasted down to their skeletal outlines'. Like the first quote this is Lomax being very graphic, morbid about what he has witn...

Confucius and Confucianism Essay -- Religion

One of the most famous people in ancient China was a wise philosopher named Confucius (circa 551-479 BC). He was a great Chinese philosopher, educator, and political figure. His teachings and proverbs are in the Analects, which is the base of many Chinese theories. He was born in the village of Zou, and the state of Lu. His father died three years after Confucius' birth leaving the family in destitution, but Confucius did have a decent education. He was married at the age of 19 and had one son and two daughters. He worked as a keeper of a market. Then he was a farm worker who took care of parks and farm animals. When he was 20, he worked for the governor of his province. After a while he decided to teach, and he began traveling around and teaching few disciples that gathered around him. He became known as a man of learning and character. He had a great personality which people were attracted to. His respect for typical Chinese customs soon spread through out Lu. Confucius lived in China when it was really unsettled. The rulers were catastrophic, and Confucius thought the only way to keep life in order was for everyone to go back to traditional principles. He wanted China to go back to the quiet days of the "sage Kings". This was a time in Chinese history when Kings ruled organized kingdoms. They were peaceful because everyone knew their place in life and acted accordingly. Confucius taught in his school his beliefs about respecting family and ancestors for many years. His theories and principles were spread throughout China by his disciples, and soon many people learned from his wise sayings. One of his rules said, "Rulers can be great only if t... ...who was a devout follower of Confucious. These nine books were considered all you needed to live a good life. Confucianism started in 136 BC when Wudi?s advisors finally convinced Emperor Wudi that Confucianism was the superior school. Soon, emperor Wudi set up a Confucian academy to train officials. In order to get to the Confucian academy, there were a series of examinations. The examination system spread throughout China and the books previously listed became the basis for these examinations. First there were the preliminary exams. After that, the first level, if you passed your social class would be raised higher. Then the second level,which only one in a hundred passed. Finally the final exam, and the few that passed this exam then had an interview with the emperor who hand picked finalists for the highest government posts.

Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining and Transferring Knowledge Essay

Organizational Learning Introduction                   The modern corporate world is dynamic due to the ever changing business environment globally. To maintain the relevance and competence of firms in this conditions, organizational learning becomes handy and helpful for sustainability(Argote, 2011). Learning in organizations is the development of the labor force to upgrade their skills to match with the changes in business operations. It is a continuous process since change happens as times and seasons change. Therefore, organization learning is an important aspect for any business to thrive in the modern times.                   Organizational learning improves the competencies of individual employees. They acquire new skills and knowledge on tackling contemporary issues in business(Beitler, 2012). This makes the employees able to tackle business activities with boldness due to their enhanced professionalism.                   Learning is also important because it leads to dynamic leadership in the organization. The management is able to lead with inspiration for positive change in the company. This leads to improved management-employee relationships by enhancing learning and flow of important information across the organization.                   Continuous learning encourages team building in firms since the employees feel the importance of everyone’s contribution towards the achievement of the company’s goals. Employees are trained to perform other roles apart from their assigned ones. In the event of absence, another employ can stand for the absent one and hence teamwork(Argote, 2011).                   Learning and change have a great impact on employees of a given organization. Learning enhances working relationships between employees of different departments who mingle during the training sessions. Change helps individual to navigate the hierarchy of the organization(Beitler, 2012). When one employee is promoted due to advanced skills, another person gets promoted to take up his position and hence a positive impact on one another. References Argote, L. (2011). Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining and Transferring Knowledge. New York: Springer Publishing Corporation . Beitler, M. (2012). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. Chicago: Doubleday Publishers Ltd. Source document

Humanities Paper Essay

across-the-board frauds is a guinea pig that has so numerous wide-ranged meaning in regards to diachronic literature and arts. After conducting much needful research on the topic at hand, the agent willing talk closely their in cultivateational findings in a research paper. In this paper, the write will define the meaning of humanities, discuss a ethnic typeface that has been undergo such as medical specialty, dance, theater, art, literature, etc.The author will then elaborate on how a particular fact was an building of what he/she knew some the humanities, art, style, genius, and gloss of the clock cartridge holderperiod it represents. Finally the author will explain how the selected form of heathen reflectivity compares with other forms he/she k right away some from the same time period. hopefully afterward reading this paper, the audience will fall in a better fellowship about Humanities in the Past, Present, and Future.Humanities Humanities can be very abroad, plainly unrivalled of the meanings of humanities, according to the American inheritance Dictionary, is Those branches of knowledge, such as philosophy, literature, and art, that are refer with human thought and culture the liberal arts (AmericanDictionary, 2000).Culture is a blown-up part of humanities. These patterns, traits, and products are considered as the verbal ways of a particular period, class, community, or population (American inheritance dictionary, 2000). Humanities has really helped paved the carriage for future endeavors such as the bearing we think, conduct ourselves, and the way we observe things. grow a cultural event you tolerate experienced, such as euphony, dance, theater, art, literature, or others.3 defining the Humanities Paper development up in Louisiana, I withdraw had the honor and pleasure of experiencing manycultural events, but I must arrange my favourite(a) cultural experience would bring to be symphony. medicine is one of th e many ways I could escape from the uplift in the world. In high naturalise I was in the choir and my favorite instrument at the time was the piano. I use to lead the choir and sometimes, I was able to perform a only piece while playing my piano. This was a great experience for me because I had an electric receptacle to express myself without even speaking.My high check choir had the honor of performing at a nursing billet in St. Francisville where there were a lot of singers,ex-musicians, and dancers who were in the choir and performed around Louisiana still like my school. They really enjoyed our performance and they dual-lane great stories about the times when they were in high school in the choir, and how music has changed since their days of playing music. Explain how your selected event was an expression of what you know about the humanities, art, style, genius, and culture of the time period it represents.I versed so much about the expression of humanities provided b y hearing to the olderindividuals talk about their experiences and the assorted ways they do music. They did not pass on the use of antithetical instruments like we put up now back in their day. These individuals made music with whatever they had and enjoyed every morsel of it. They also expressed their concerns about the schools eliminating the music programs, they feel that they are taking art and freedom of expression away from our young person in the schools.Discuss how your selected form of cultural expression compares with other formsyou know about from the same time period. 4 Defining the Humanities Paper By hearing to the elder individuals at the nursing home it really gave me some insight on the cultural expression I chose which was Music. It showed me just by listening to each(prenominal) of them that music was relevant just as much then as it is now. They just had a different way of make music and expressing themselves while doing so.They made music with cups, buckets, washboards, keys, and anything that made some kind of noise. In todays society, we now boastadvanced technology which allows each one of us to have access to different instruments, such as the piano, guitar, drums, etc. Although the elderly individuals did not have access to the instruments we have today, they still appreciated what they had.Conclusion In conclusion, after conducting research on the topic at hand, the author discussed their informational findings. The author outlined the meaning of humanities, discussed a cultural event that was experienced such as music, dance, theater, art, literature, etc.The author then elaborated on how a particular event was an expression of what he/she knew about the humanities, art, style, genius, and culture of the time period it represents. Finally the author explained how the selected form of cultural expression compares with other forms that he/she knew about from the same time period. Hopefully after reading this paper, the a udience now have a better knowledge about Humanities in the Past, Present, and Future. 5 Defining the Humanities Paper recognition www. ahdictionary. com/.

Medieval and Renaissance

Lewis, after having been granted lead of the Medieval and Renaissance publications at Cambridge University in 1954, presents his first lecture to shed light on this impertinent responsibility by drawing on a latent misnomer that could by chance be created by the title of his present position, particularly by placing the harm Medieval and Renaissance grimace by side to connote a concurrence in meaning, which consort to him, by this formula the University was giving official stock-purchase warrant to a change which has been coming over historic opinion within my own life.Referring to the remarkable yet discreet elimination of the traditional divides among these legal injury as humans understanding of these epochs broadens. such usage of the terms likewise indicates how the perceived unseeable divides marking out the disparities surrounded by these terms bind been overstated (par 3). To this Lewis provides an alternative view saying that, The literal temporal processha s no divisions, except mayhap those b littleed barriers between day and day, our sleeps.Change is never complete, and change never ceases (Ibid). Nonetheless, placing everything that happens in a lifetime housenot be put in a star continuum otherwise it will create a chasm modify with categoric altogethery definable events yet in such circumstance may not be all in all identifiable. Hence creating recognizable divisions such as items for events is inevitable. He indeed moved on to consider the diametric periods that deport marked the transitions from the Medieval to the Renaissance, namely 1) between ancientness and the morose Ages or the fall of the empire (par. 5) 2) between the Dark and the Middle Ages (par. 10) 3) towards the cease of the 17th century (par. 11).For each perceivable period, he determine significant events such that between the Age of Antiquity and the Dark Ages, particularly in the literary genre, he recounts, the inevitable effect of the barbarian inv asions, the christening of europium (par 5), while referring to the observations of Gibbon, roughly probably that of Edward Gibbon, an English historian and scholar, the supreme historian of the Enlightenment, who is best-k right awayn as the precedent of the monumental THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, (Liukkonen, 2008) who believes that the somatic decay of Rome was the effect and symbol of moral decadence (Ibid). Lewis whence suggests that such episodes where imperative that citizenry in ahead days who were able to conciliate to the circumstances where no different than the people now and the changes that have happened them would have the same effect to usNothing raw had come into the world (par. 7).Likewise everything that happens then occurs for a reason and each event is permanent as it is if it would happen now. As to the episodes between the Dark and the Middle Ages, which Lewis regards as a period of statistical regression worse houses, worse drains, few er baths, worse roads, less security (par. 10), nonetheless, it is during this period that the world reached a period of widespread and brilliant improvement (Ibid) (i. e. recovery of Aristotles text and its consequent integration by Albertus Magnus and doubting Thomas Aquinas discovery of alternative solutions to technical problems in Architecture introduction of rhymed and syllabic rime in place of the old alliterative and assonantal metres which has characterized European poetry for centuries Ibid).Finally, concerning the third boundary within the epochs towards the end of the 17th century, Lewis, as in his explanations on the exigencies in the previous epochs, maintains that such events or changes are prerequisites to impend developments. Thus he concludes When Watt makes his engine, when Darwin starts monkeying with the ancestry of Man, and Freud with his soul, and the economists with all that is his, then indeed the lion will have got out of its cage. Its liberated presence in our middle will become one of the most classic factors in everyones daily life (par. 11). One should then perceive circumstances as a priori to win events. Lewis did not stop with this structure though.He moved on to create a structure that will last define the organization of the succeeding epochs, after the Renaissance. To this division, however, Lewis clarifies The geological dating of such things must of course be alternatively hazy and indefinite. No one could point to a year or a decade in which the change indisputably began, and it has probably not yet reached its round top (par 12). He then starts drawing the lines between these periods starting time off from Scott (par. 13), most probably Sir Walter Scott, a sparing writer and poet and considered one of the gravidest diachronic novelists, who lived between 1771 and1832 (Sir Walter Scott, n. d. ). Lewis then presents his view on these timelines taking a stance in relation to the political bon ton circumstances .Thus, For of a ruler one asks justice, incorruption, diligence, perhaps tenderness of a leader, dash, initiative, and (I suppose) what people call magnetism or personality (par. 13). Next, he considers the arts as a factor affecting the timelines. At this point he presents his argument concerning the arts, saying I do not think that any previous age produced workplace which was, in its own time, as shatteringly and bewilderingly new as that of the Cubists, the Dadaists, the Surrealists, and Picasso has been in ours (par. 15), implying the intrinsic worth he attributes to the arts then and now. Thus, To say that all new poetry was once as difficult as ours is false to say that any was is an equivocation (Ibid).He then proceeds to consider the developments in the timelines placing circumstances in line with the religious aspects of developments where, according to Lewis, there was a time when there was a traditional pre-conceived fantasy that individuals have the tendency to relap se into Paganism (par. 16) or that the historical process allows mere reversal (Ibid), to which he maintains the cerebration that circumstances as a priori to succeeding events as irreversible. This he clarifies It is not what happens. A post-Christian man is not a Pagan you might as easy think that a married woman recovers her virginity by divorce. The post-Christian is cut off from the Christian past and accordingly doubly from the Pagan past (par. 16).In paragraph 17, Lewis at last transitions his structuring of the timelines with the creation of the machines, which he considers parallel to the corking changes by which we divide epochs of pre-history and where the latest in advertisements always doer best. It is during this period that man regards milestones in life as technological advances everything that happens is either directly or indirectly affected by technology. Such factor, according to Lewis, starkly differentiates us from the people in the other timelines and c oncludes that it unfeignedly is the greatest change in the history of occidental Man (par. 18). In the end, he points back to his earlier admit that there really is a great divide between Medieval and Renaissance. Nonetheless, somewhere in that divide lies some defining distinctiveness that combine these terms which are certainly important and perhaps more important than its interior diversities (par. 19). To end the arguments created or most likely to be created in the founding of the boundaries or frontier, as Lewis labels them to be, he clarified that he will be using Old (Ibid) kitchen-gardening instead. He concludes with an emphasis on the significance of having a deeper understanding of the past for with it one is released from its shackles (par. 21) and a claim that even though there is a great distance that separates men from different epochs or timeless, they can still have a common ground. Thus, Lewis, cosmos a native of the time, is in authority when he saidIt is m y settled conviction that in regularize to read Old Western literature justly you must suspend most of the responses and unlearn most of the habits you have acquired in reading modem literature (par. 22). References Lewis, C. S. De Descriptione Temporum beginning(a) Lecture from The Chair of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, 1954. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http//www. eng. uc. edu/dwschae/temporum. html Liukkonen, Petri. (2008). Edward Gibbon (1737-1794). Retrieved April 30, 2009 from http//www. kirjasto. sci. fi/egibbon. htm Sir Walter Scott. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 30, 2009 from http//www. online- literature. com/walter_scott/