Foundation and Empire 1. Search For Magicians

BEL RIOSE†¦ In his relatively short career, Riose earned the title of â€Å"The Last of the Imperials† and earned it well. A study of his campaigns reveals him to be the equal of Peurifoy in strategic ability and his superior perhaps in his ability to handle men. That he was born in the days of the decline of Empire made it all but impossible for him to equal Peurifoy's record as a conqueror. Yet he had his chance when, the first of the Empire's generals to do so, he faced the Foundation squarely†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica *All quotations from the Encyclopedia Galactica here reproduced are taken from the 116th Edition published in 1020 F.E. by the Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing Co., Terminus, with permission of the publishers. Bel Riose traveled without escort, which is not what court etiquette prescribes for the head of a fleet stationed in a yet-sullen stellar system on the Marches of the Galactic Empire. But Bel Riose was young and energetic – energetic enough to be sent as near the end of the universe as possible by an unemotional and calculating court – and curious besides. Strange and improbable tales fancifully-repeated by hundreds and murkily-known to thousands intrigued the last faculty; the possibility of a military venture engaged the other two. The combination was overpowering. He was out of the dowdy ground-car he had appropriated and at the door of the fading mansion that was his destination. He waited. The photonic eye that spanned the doorway was alive, but when the door opened it was by hand. Bel Riose smiled at the old man. â€Å"I am Riose-â€Å" â€Å"I recognize you.† The old man remained stiffly and unsurprised in his place. â€Å"Your business?† Riose withdrew a step in a gesture of submission. â€Å"One of peace. If you are Ducem Barr, I ask the favor of conversation.† Ducem Barr stepped aside and in the interior of the house the walls glowed into life, The general entered into daylight. He touched the wall of the study, then stared at his fingertips. â€Å"You have this on Siwenna?† Barr smiled thinly. â€Å"Not elsewhere, I believe. I keep this in repair myself as well as I can. I must apologize for your wait at the door. The automatic device registers the presence of a visitor but will no longer open the door.† â€Å"Your repairs fall short?† The general's voice was faintly mocking. â€Å"Parts are no longer available. If you will sit, sir. You drink tea?† â€Å"On Siwenna? My good sir, it is socially impossible not to drink it here.† The old patrician retreated noiselessly with a slow bow that was part of the ceremonious legacy left by the aristocracy of the last century's better days. Riose looked after his host's departing figure, and his studied urbanity grew a bit uncertain at the edges. His education had been purely military; his experience likewise. He had, as the cliche‚ has it, faced death many times; but always death of a very familiar and tangible nature, Consequently, there is no inconsistency in the fact that the idolized lion of the Twentieth Fleet felt chilled in the suddenly musty atmosphere of an ancient room. The general recognized the small black-ivroid boxes that lined the shelves to be books. Their titles were unfamiliar. He guessed that the large structure at one end of the room was the receiver that transmuted the books into sight-and-sound on demand. He had never seen one in operation; but he had heard of them. Once he had been told that long before, during the golden ages when the Empire had been co-extensive with the entire Galaxy, nine houses out of every ten had such receivers – and such rows of books. But there were borders to watch now; books were for old men. And half the stories told about the old days were mythical anyway. More than half. The tea arrived, and Riose seated himself. Ducem Barr lifted his cup. â€Å"To your honor.† â€Å"Thank you. To yours.† Ducem Barr said deliberately, â€Å"You are said to be young. Thirty-five?† â€Å"Near enough. Thirty-four.† â€Å"In that case,† said Barr, with soft emphasis, â€Å"I could not begin better than by informing you regretfully that I am not in the possession of love charms, potions, or philtres. Nor am I in the least capable of influencing the favors of any young lady as may appeal to you.† â€Å"I have no need of artificial aids in that respect, sir.† The complacency undeniably present in the general's voice was stirred with amusement. â€Å"Do you receive many requests for such commodities?† â€Å"Enough. Unfortunately, an uninformed public tends to confuse scholarship with magicianry, and love life seems to be that factor which requires the largest quantity of magical tinkering.† â€Å"And so would seem most natural. But I differ. I connect scholarship with nothing but the means of answering difficult questions.† The Siwennian considered somberly, â€Å"You may be as wrong as they!† â€Å"That may turn out or not.† The young general set down his cup in its flaring sheath and it refilled. He dropped the offered flavor-capsule into it with a small splash. â€Å"Tell me then, patrician, who are the magicians? The real ones.† Barr seemed startled at a title long-unused. He said, â€Å"There are no magicians.† â€Å"But people speak of them. Siwenna crawls with the tales of them. There are cults being built about them. There is some strange connection between it and those groups among your countrymen who dream and drivel of ancient days and what they call liberty and autonomy. Eventually the matter might become a danger to the State.† The old man shook his head. â€Å"Why ask me? Do you smell rebellion, with myself at the head?† Riose shrugged, â€Å"Never. Never. Oh, it is not a thought completely ridiculous. Your father was an exile in his day; you yourself a patriot and a chauvinist in yours. It is indelicate in me as a guest to mention it, but my business here requires it. And yet a conspiracy now? I doubt it. Siwenna has had the spirit beat out of it these three generations.† The old man replied with difficulty, â€Å"I shall be as indelicate a host as you a guest. I shall remind you that once a viceroy thought as you did of the spiritless Siwennians. By the orders of that viceroy my father became a fugitive pauper, my brothers martyrs, and my sister a suicide. Yet that viceroy died a death sufficiently horrible at the hands of these same slavish Siwennians.† â€Å"Ah, yes, and there you touch nearly on something I could wish to say. For three years the mysterious death of that viceroy has been no mystery to me. There was a young soldier of his personal guard whose actions were of interest. You were that soldier, but there is no need of details, I think.† Barr was quiet. â€Å"None. What do you propose?† â€Å"That you answer my questions.† â€Å"Not under threats. I am old enough for life not to mean particularly overmuch.† â€Å"My good sir, these are hard times,† said Riose, with meaning, â€Å"and you have children and friends. You have a country for which you have mouthed phrases of love and folly in the past. Come, if I should decide to use force, my aim would not be so poor as to strike you.† Barr said coldly, â€Å"What do you want?† Riose held the empty cup as he spoke. â€Å"Patrician, listen to me. These are days when the most successful soldiers are those whose function is to lead the dress parades that wind through the imperial palace grounds on feast days and to escort the sparkling pleasure ships that carry His Imperial Splendor to the summer planets. I†¦ I am a failure. I am a failure at thirty-four, and I shall stay a failure. Because, you see, I like to fight. â€Å"That's why they sent me here. I'm too troublesome at court. I don't fit in with the etiquette. I offend the dandies and the lord admirals, but I'm too good a leader of ships and men to be disposed of shortly be being marooned in space. So Siwenna is the substitute. It's a frontier world; a rebellious and a barren province. It is far away, far enough away to satisfy all. â€Å"And so I moulder. There are no rebellions to stamp down, and the border viceroys do not revolt lately, at least, not since His Imperial Majesty's late father of glorious memory made an example of Mountel of Paramay.† â€Å"A strong Emperor,† muttered Barr. â€Å"Yes, and we need more of them. He is my master; remember that. These are his interests I guard.† Barr shrugged unconcernedly. â€Å"How does all this relate to the subject?† â€Å"I'll show you in two words. The magicians I've mentioned come from beyond-out there beyond the frontier guards, where the stars are scattered thinly-â€Å" â€Å"‘Where the stars are scattered thinly,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ quoted Barr, â€Å"‘And the cold of space seeps in.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ â€Å"Is that poetry?† Riose frowned. Verse seemed frivolous at the moment. â€Å"In any case, they're from the Periphery – from the only quarter where I am free to fight for the glory of the Emperor.† â€Å"And thus serve His Imperial Majesty's interests and satisfy your own love of a good fight.† â€Å"Exactly. But I must know what I fight; and there you can help.† â€Å"How do you know?† Riose nibbled casually at a cakelet. â€Å"Because for three years I have traced every rumor, every myth, every breath concerning the magicians – and of all the library of information I have gathered, only two isolated facts are unanimously agreed upon, and are hence certainly true. The first is that the magicians come from the edge of the Galaxy opposite Siwenna; the second is that your father once met a magician, alive and actual, and spoke with him.† The aged Siwennian stared unblinkingly, and Riose continued, â€Å"You had better tell me what you know-â€Å" Barr said thoughtfully, â€Å"It would be interesting to tell you certain things. It would be a psychohistoric experiment of my own.† â€Å"What kind of experiment?† â€Å"Psychohistoric.† The old man had an unpleasant edge to his smile. Then, crisply, â€Å"You'd better have more tea. I'm going to make a bit of a speech.† He leaned far back into the soft cushions of his chair. The wall-lights had softened to a pink-ivory glow, which mellowed even the soldier's hard profile. Ducem Barr began, â€Å"My own knowledge is the result of two accidents; the accidents of being born the son of my father, and of being born the native of my country. It begins over forty years ago, shortly after the great Massacre, when my father was a fugitive in the forests of the South, while I was a gunner in the viceroy's personal fleet. This same viceroy, by the way, who had ordered the Massacre, and who died such a cruel death thereafter.† Barr smiled grimly, and continued, â€Å"My father was a Patrician of the Empire and a Senator of Siwenna. His name was Onum Barr.† Riose interrupted impatiently, â€Å"I know the circumstances of his exile very well. You needn't elaborate upon it.† The Siwennian ignored him and proceeded without deflection. â€Å"During his exile a wanderer came upon him; a merchant from the edge of the Galaxy; a young man who spoke a strange accent, knew nothing of recent Imperial history, and who was protected by an individual force-shield.† â€Å"An individual force-shield?† Riose glared. â€Å"You speak extravagance. What generator could be powerful enough to condense a shield to the size of a single man? By the Great Galaxy, did he carry five thousand myria-tons of nuclear power-source about with him on a little wheeled gocart?† Barr said quietly, â€Å"This is the magician of whom you hear whispers, stories and myths. The name ‘magician' is not lightly earned. He carried no generator large enough to be seen, but not the heaviest weapon you can carry in your hand would have as much as creased the shield he bore.† â€Å"Is this all the story there is? Are the magicians born of maunderings of an old man broken by suffering and exile?† â€Å"The story of the magicians antedated even my father, sir. And the proof is more concrete. After leaving my father, this merchant that men call a magician visited a Tech-man at the city to which my father had guided him, and there he left a shield-generator of the type he wore. That generator was retrieved by my father after his return from exile upon the execution of the bloody viceroy. It took a long time to find- â€Å"The generator hangs on the wall behind you, sir. It does not work. It never worked but for the first two days; but if you'll look at it, you will see that no one in the Empire ever designed it.† Bel Riose reached for the belt of linked metal that clung to the curved wall. It came away with a little sucking noise as the tiny adhesion-field broke at the touch of his hand. The ellipsoid at the apex of the belt held his attention. It was the size of a walnut. â€Å"This-† he said. â€Å"Was the generator,† nodded Barr. â€Å"But it was the generator. The secret of its workings are beyond discovery now. Sub-electronic investigations have shown it to be fused into a single lump of metal and not all the most careful study of the diffraction patterns have sufficed to distinguish the discrete parts that had existed before fusion.† â€Å"Then your ‘proof' still lingers on the frothy border of words backed by no concrete evidence.† Barr shrugged. â€Å"You have demanded my knowledge of me and threatened its extortion by force. If you choose to meet it with skepticism, what is that to me? Do you want me to stop?† â€Å"Go on!† said the general, harshly. â€Å"I continued my father's researches after he died, and then the second accident I mentioned came to help me, for Siwenna was well known to Hari Seldon.† â€Å"And who is Hari Seldon?† â€Å"Hari Seldon was a scientist of the reign of the Emperor, Daluben IV. He was a psychohistorian; the last and greatest of them all. He once visited Siwenna, when Siwenna was a great commercial center, rich in the arts and sciences.† â€Å"Hmph,† muttered Riose, sourly, â€Å"where is the stagnant planet that does not claim to have been a land of overflowing wealth in older days?† â€Å"The days I speak of are the days of two centuries ago, when the Emperor yet ruled to the uttermost star; when Siwenna was a world of the interior and not a semi-barbarian border province. In those days, Hari Seldon foresaw the decline of Imperial power and the eventual barbarization of the entire Galaxy.† Riose laughed suddenly. â€Å"He foresaw that? Then he foresaw wrong, my good scientist. I suppose you call yourself that. Why, the Empire is more powerful now than it has been in a millennium. Your old eyes are blinded by the cold bleakness of the border. Come to the inner worlds some day; come to the warmth and the wealth of the center.† The old man shook his head somberly. â€Å"Circulation ceases first at the outer edges. It will take a while yet for the decay to reach the heart. That is, the apparent, obvious-to-all decay, as distinct from the inner decay that is an old story of some fifteen centuries.† â€Å"And so this Hari Seldon foresaw a Galaxy of uniform barbarism,† said Riose, good-humoredly. â€Å"And what then, eh?† â€Å"So he established two foundations at the extreme opposing ends of the Galaxy – Foundations of the best, and the youngest, and the strongest, there to breed, grow, and develop. The worlds on which they were placed were chosen carefully; as were the times and the surroundings. All was arranged in such a way that the future as foreseen by the unalterable mathematics of psychohistory would involve their early isolation from the main body of Imperial civilization and their gradual growth into the germs of the Second Galactic Empire – cutting an inevitable barbarian interregnum from thirty thousand years to scarcely a single thousand.† â€Å"And where did you find out all this? You seem to know it in detail.† â€Å"I don't and never did,† said the patrician with composure. â€Å"It is the painful result of the piecing together of certain evidence discovered by my father and a little more found by myself. The basis is flimsy and the superstructure has been romanticized into existence to fill the huge gaps. But I am convinced that it is essentially true.† â€Å"You are easily convinced.† â€Å"Am I? It has taken forty years of research.† â€Å"Hmph. Forty years! I could settle the question in forty days. In fact, I believe I ought to. It would be – different.† â€Å"And how would you do that?† â€Å"In the obvious way. I could become an explorer. I could find this Foundation you speak of and observe with my eyes. You say there are two?† â€Å"The records speak of two. Supporting evidence has been found only for one, which is understandable, for the other is at the extreme end of the long axis of the Galaxy.† â€Å"Well, we'll visit the near one.† The general was on his feet, adjusting his belt. â€Å"You know where to go?† asked Barr. â€Å"In a way. In the records of the last viceroy but one, he whom you murdered so effectively, there are suspicious tales of outer barbarians. In fact, one of his daughters was given in marriage to a barbarian prince. I'll find my way.† He held out a hand. â€Å"I thank you for your hospitality.† Ducem Barr touched the hand with his fingers and bowed formally. â€Å"Your visit was a great honor.† â€Å"As for the information you gave me,† continued Bel Riose, â€Å"I'll know how to thank you for that when I return.† Ducem Barr followed his guest submissively to the outer door and said quietly to the disappearing ground-car, â€Å"And if you return.†

Public Facilities

public facilities in india have become more than in these recent years. Our country is progressing very fast like a person climbing fast on any mountain peak. In this scenario indians are provided with many public facilities such as transport facilty, communication facility, social facility , etc, but amongst all education facility is the most pre occupied in them. As you all know education plays a very crucial roles in our day to day life and even if the peoples are not educated then these other facilties become of no use. people are well been provided with these facilities but some people may not use them properly.You can see this in many newspaper or in any media and even we see them in our daily life such as some peoples have the habit to dirt the public bus or you can see the real life example in your school. in your school some bad students untides classroom and broke or make designs on desks and tables. thus , lastly i would like to say that we must not have to destroy public facilities in our country as such india is a great fast develoing country which will soon become much economical than it is now, before it will happen, our indian government is trying the best to provide us facilties that can help us to be stable in our day to day life. o that ‘s all balwant , hope this will help you, cheers! public facilities in india have become more than in these recent years. Our country is progressing very fast like a person climbing fast on any mountain peak. In this scenario indians are provided with many public facilities such as transport facilty, communication facility, social facility , etc, but amongst all education facility is the most pre occupied in them.As you all know education plays a very crucial roles in our day to day life and even if the peoples are not educated then these other facilties become of no use. people are well been provided with these facilities but some people may not use them properly. You can see this in many newspaper or i n any media and even we see them in our daily life such as some peoples have the habit to dirt the public bus or you can see the real life example in your school. n your school some bad students untides classroom and broke or make designs on desks and tables. thus , lastly i would like to say that we must not have to destroy public facilities in our country as such india is a great fast develoing country which will soon become much economical than it is now, before it will happen, our indian government is trying the best to provide us facilties that can help us to be stable in our day to day life. so that ‘s all balwant , hope this will help you, cheers!

Low Morale of Prisoners

The prison employees safety is in jeopardy. Prison positions always carried a moderate amount of risk. Prisons are filled with people who believe that rules and regulations serve no purpose. These people violated the rules to the extent that they were removed from society.   Prisoners never deny nor apologize for their behavior. Making excuses for uncivilized behavior allows the low morale to never be acknowledged. Refusing to acknowledge the low morale problem among prisoners stops solutions from being possible. Causes of the Low Morale Among Prisoners There are as many outside influences for the low morale of prisoners as their own beliefs and opinions.   Giving in to easily to persuasion, wanting to be accepted, wanting friends and associates are the factors that are least acknowledged. Psychiatrists analyze   behavior and characteristics by social skills. However, wanting to have friends and please people leaves an opening to be influenced into unacceptable behavior. Today, no one can be certain if associates are really friends or enemies. Some of the current studies are mental illnesses, malnutrition, isolation, guards behavior and lack of rehabilitation and psychiatric programs are causing prisoners to have a lower regard for human life. Psychological games the guards use to cause the inmates to lose their individuality and focus contribute to low morale.   The system is set up so the prisoners frame of mind never changes for the better. Segregation in Maximum Security Prisons In maximum security prisons, â€Å"The prisoners spend 23 hours a day in small well lit cells, for one hour a day they have access to one small concrete recreation area† (Bender, November 4, 2005, P 15).   According to the study from Psychiatric News, segregation worsens behavior. With conditions like these, the prisoners learn is if they survive another day, they are doing the right thing.   They lose all knowledge of social skills. The only mental health treatment they are allowed is a brief time with the psychotherapists. The counseling is conducted in front of other inmates cells. Lack of treatment for drug and alcohol addiction is another problem in the prisons. â€Å"So far, one prisoner who repeatedly ends up in prison cost tax payers over $200,00† ( Imse, 2007).   The system does very little to correct the situation. The drug addicts cannot overcome the habit on their own. According to the Rocky Mountain News, the expenses of the medication and therapy is one of the reasons many prisoners do not get the proper treatment they need. According to the Human Rights Watch article, prisoners spent at least 23 hours during their daily activities along. The majority of damage to the prisoners is psychological. There is very little or no evidence of physical abuse. Mental humiliation and torture is impossible to prove. Conclusion Maximum security prisoners have a very low morale because of the psychological abuse they go through day after day. According to the latest research, isolation has the biggest impact on prisoner’s behavior. They are isolated, but are constantly watched. People in maximum security prisons are segregated because they have came across   secrets they were not supposed to. Bender, E, Psychiatric News (November 4, 2005), Volume 40, Number 21, P 15  © 2005 American Psychiatric Association Human Rights Watch (2000) HWR.ORG Imse, A, (Feb 16, 2007) Rocky Mountain News. Revolving Door to State Prisons Human Rights Watch, (February 2000) Vol. 12, No 1 G Out of Sight: Super-Maximum Security Confinement in the United States

U.S. History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. History - Essay Example In the period after the French and Indian war victories, Britain commanded a lot of respect from many countries. This status was to last for a short while since the influence of Britain to its colonies started to wane afterward due to the heavy debt accumulated over the war. The parliament decided to enact the 1765 stamp act, which required the colonies to pay additional tax on British goods. Resistance and boycott of British goods met this move. The events of April 8, 1775, refer to the ride that Paul Revere went to in order to deliver a message to the people of Boston. This happened just within 10 days after a premature ride to Concord. The objective of the rides was to warn the inhabitants the possibility of an impending war. The legend, however, is in the fact that he covered 13 miles within two hours and gathered the Lexington militia. The fundamental principles of the United States government include self-governance, separation of powers and inherent rights. The self-governance principle is important in that it helps people choose their own president. The idea of separation of powers is in the constitution is to ensure that no specific body controls all the powers; instead, the three branches of the government have checks and balances against each other.The first foreign policy failure of John Adam’s administration was the endeavor to gain Texas from Mexico.The other issue he encountered with his foreign policy attempts was to increase the volume of trade with the West Indies.

Atomic bonb Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Atomic bonb - Essay Example They placed the onus on the prevention of apocalypse on mankind. This was then seen as a reclamation of agency on the part of a beleaguered species which felt that it was doomed as a result of the inexorable progress of science and technology. The world wars made it clear to man that science was something that could be used for causing unimaginable misery on mankind. The atomic bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved to even those who were not directly affected by the destruction the power of such bombs. There was thus, a fear of atomic power as something that could trigger off apocalypse or the end of mankind as a species. This fear was then expressed through movies such as The Day the Earth Caught Fire and The Day the Earth Stood Still. These movies were made in the wake of the world wars and the effect of these wars and the incredible human loss that they caused can be seen in them. The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a movie that was released in 1961 and it was dir ected by Val Guest. The movie narrated the story of a possible apocalypse and how the human race attempts to avert this crisis. The movie makes it very clear that the reason for the crisis to have happened in the first place was a series of nuclear explosions that were conducted by the Soviet Union and The United States of America. These explosions are then said to have an effect that is catastrophic and the future of the whole of mankind is then in jeopardy. This ability of science to affect the whole of mankind is something that arises out of mankind’s recognition of itself as a singular entity. This recognition came about in a major way as a result of the world wars where the world was united in war, with the whole of humanity fighting on one side or the other. Humanity then was seen as a whole. This however, also meant that nothing could be completely local ever again. The atomic bomb and its ability to wipe out the whole of humanity in a single strike was something that created a great deal of fear amongst the people of the world for whom even the unity of humanity and its future lay in the answer to certain questions. These questions centred on how to use science and the way in which it would progress. This was then seen in movies that were a part of the genre of science fiction. Science fiction could then be employed to articulate the fears of an entire generation of people who had no say in their own future where it would be decided by the ruling class of politicians. The dehumanizing ability of the bomb, where millions of people would be wiped out without leaving traces of individuals was also something that the people of this era was extremely fearful of. The movie’s depiction of individual human beings can then be seen to be a consolation of the desire on the part of the audience for individuality (Guest). Another aspect of the movie is its focus on the Cold War. Released in 1961, the movie talks of the nuclear explosions that were con ducted by the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The tussle between these major powers led to countries becoming a part of one power bloc or the other. However, it also led to fear among mankind as to what the ultimate outcome of such rivalry would be. It is significant that the arms race that took place between these two powers is referred to in this movie. It is thus, again the fear of science and the pace of its progress that leads to fear amongst the masses. It is this fear that movies of the

Quantitative and Qualitative Methods of Research Assignment

Quantitative and Qualitative Methods of Research - Assignment Example Measurements of data in a big population are carried out through random sampling. Random sampling does not give an accurate measurement in people since people are different from each other as compared to elements tested in natural sciences that are always identical (Graham, 2008). The best approach to measurement that should be used in the measurement of people and society is the use of a computerized sampling method that is programmed to practice simulation. Use of computerized sampling will ensure that the whole population is well represented (Davies, 2007). Both qualitative and quantitative types of research need to be valid and reliable to enhance their use by analysts. The validity of these research methods ensures the connection of the research carried out and the theoretical ideas of the researcher (Chikkodi and Satyaprasad, 2010). Much of it refers to the generalizability of the findings in both the quantitative and qualitative research. In a bid to assess, the validity of these two types of validity in research, their credibility and transferability aspect is very important (Connaway and Powell, 2010). The credibility aspect is used to determine whether the findings in the research seem believable while the transferability aspect determines whether the findings of the research are applicable in another context. Reliability of these types of research refers to the situation in which more than one observer of the study agrees with the findings (Katsirikou and Skiadas, 2012). A good example is how an efficient apparatus in laborator y gives accurate data.

Culture Wars and Teachings of the Past Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Culture Wars and Teachings of the Past - Essay Example This makes them edge when they hear other people drawing comparisons of the past and current happenings (Manning, 2003). History and all the aspects involved are not very palatable in many circles. This is pegged on the understanding that it is crucial to take time to understand the history and what it entailed. This will include digging up of past issues that will rub people in all the wrong ways. Opinionated facts about those that support standards and those that do not have taken centre stage for so many years. There is an example presented of women and many other minority groups that have risen in the historical issue. They have been linked to the formations and opinions that are currently applied in many decisions that are arrived at all over the world. Historians all over have supported this thought. This is with the realization that there is a connection between the way things are observed and what they were (McNay, 1999). This is what forms the cannons of their historical tea chings and observations. This has created the chance for them to teach history as they are expected to. This is with the mindset that as much as the past is the past, it has a relationship with the future. This is with respect to the mistakes made the successes endured and the strides that were made. This is at each and every step of the way as the general process of history was unfolding and taking centre stage. This is with respect to the raising of the historical standards or being content with aspects of multi culturalism that are being propagated and embraced (Dunn, 2000). Second Book Review- History on Trial The issue of the creation of national standards has had long standing complications. This is because every society has very many people that support and critic various ideologies. This is mostly the case in the event that they do not support the logic and opinions of the majority. Their diverse opinions, ideologies and beliefs, have created a system where it is practically impossible to relate (McNeill, 2009). The relationship that is drawn from all historical aspects ensure that it is seen the way that it is. The war is as a result of the diverse opinions that were arrived at during the formation of the national history standards project. The project had the sole aim of ensuring that historical standards were set. This was in relation to the general process of teaching and educating people in all aspects of history and all that it entailed. The historians propagate a system where they are entitled to the raised standards that will be used in many curriculums. They thought that the standards will have positive effects on the general process of teaching, analyzing and understanding history. This was arrived at because of the feelings that they had towards how history was being taught. Many historians supported this argument and the standards set (Nash, 2007). This was because it created a platform for them to ague objectively about the methodologies o f study. Historians take the study and understanding of history as a very delicate subject. They want history to be defined based on its overall aims, objectives and societal expectations. They want the platform to talk candidly about history and its effects on the way life is seen currently. This is based on the understanding that history

Coursework assignment for Quantitative Analysis for Managers moudel

Assignment for Quantitative Analysis for Managers moudel - Coursework Example The manufacturing cost of Kopi Lua reduces from  £ 6.00 per kg to  £ 4.83 per kg which is 19.5% lower and since the price mark-up is 30%, the actual margin is much higher. For the Costa Rica blend, however, the cost goes up from  £ 5.00 per kg to  £ 7.15 per kg causing a loss of  £ 0.65 per kg since the selling price is 5 x 1.3 =  £ 6.50 per kg. The present method of overhead allocation based on direct labour hours results in an equal allocation of  £ 1.50 per kg to each of the two blends of coffee when it is clear that the efforts in purchasing, materials handling and quality control have to be higher for processing the Costa Rica coffee in small batches of 500 kg each compared to processing Kopi Lua in batches of 10,000 kg each. Such cost anomalies could be present in each of the 40 blends that the company makes. Another significant reason to change the overhead allocation method is that the product cost would change each time the product mix made in the plant changes. This has the impact of causing variations in profitability. Activity based overhead allocation has another important advantage over the labour hour based allocation. Each element of the overhead cost can be scrutinized to see if any reduction is possible. For example, purchasing costs could reduce if the Costa Rica coffee was bought in, say, 2 batches a year in place of 4. It is not clear why the number of setups should be three per batch when the batch sizes are so different. Reducing the number of setups for Costa Rica would reduce the allocated materials handling costs. The concept of Activity Based Costing (ABC) was first defined by Robert Kaplan and William Burns in the late 1980s. Initially ABC focused on the manufacturing industry where technological developments and productivity improvements had reduced the proportion of direct labour and direct materials costs but increased the proportion of indirect or

Market Entry Report for Petcoats.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Market Entry Report for Petcoats.com - Essay Example Recently, the company received local coverage on BBC East Midlands followed by a favorable article on the company by Daily Mail. Following the two incidents of coverage, there was an avalanche of activity on the company’s website leading to the crash of the website. This event convinced the manager to explore the possibility of venturing into two foreign markets – the USA and France. This paper constitutes a report to the director of Petcoats.com on the viability of entering the US market and how best to approach the market. The report is organized into three parts: the first part investigates the US pet market, the second analyses a number of possible market entry strategies before proposing the strategy the author feels is the most appropriate. The third part of the report explores the various ways through which Petcoats.com can communicate with American pet. Finally, the author concludes by making a number of recommendations. In the 1970s, 64 million American households owned at least a pet. By 2012, that figure had more than tripled 164 million households – this figure translated to 62% of American households (The Humane Society of the United States, 2014). As has always been the case, the dog and the cat are the two most favored pets. In 2012, 47% of all households owned at least a dog, translating to a total of 83.3 million pet dogs. In that same year, dog owners spent an average $231 in a year on routine veterinary visits. The pet cat population stood at 95.6 million and on average, the cat owner spent $193 on routine visits to the veterinary.

History of the American Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of the American Economy - Essay Example They used to grow tobacco, potato, tomato, and cotton when Europe and the rest of the world had not even heard about their names. Colonists, however, did not come in search of these newfound ‘treasures’. They came in the search of gold and silver. Spain became the major colonizer of the Americas, starting from 1550s. French followed suit and established their bases in the present day Canada and Mississippi river delta. England, however, did not come in the initial stages of colonization. They came in the mid-seventeenth century and established a trading post at Jamestown, Virginia. Spanish, however, again took lead in colonizing the resources-rich South America with dozens of gold and silver mines. England, with grave poverty issues back home, decided to colonize present day United States and benefit from its resources and labor (both slave and Native Indians). The colonization resulted in an economic upheaval. The true roots of the American economy lie in the same period. Initially, British settlers concentrated on fur trade and trappings. The King, however, soon granted the permission to establish â€Å"charter companies† in the United States. These companies had to find private financiers for their growth but had the royal authority to colonize land and further British goals. Thus began the advent of â€Å"Mercantilism.† Mercantilism, in its true sense, acted as the basic source of colonization. The initial trade revolved on importing clothing materials and exporting tobacco, rice, and tomato, among other agricultural production. The economic depression in the Untied Kingdom and relative prosperity in the colonial United States encouraged the settlers to start exploring further avenues of economy. Apart from the agricultural produce, which they had established to some degree, shipbuilding became a major profession, especially in the New England region. The New World was rich in

Development of Aging Tourists Market in China Dissertation

Development of Aging Tourists Market in China - Dissertation Example Studies conducted by The World Health Organization revealed that ageing population includes the people who are 60 years of more of age. Although this population is more prone to opt for tourism opportunities, however, tourism management authorities have not been encouraging this because of the various costs that are involved with this from which the major ones include cost of security, medical and time. Tourism management refers to the management of all the activities that are related to tourism and this also includes those activities that are related to tourism. Furthermore, they also have to implement strategies that promote tourism and provide easy access to people for the purpose of tourism. Tourism Consumption System The authors, Dubelaar and Woodsie (2002) have defined the tourism consumption system (TCS) as the set of related travel thoughts, decisions, and behaviors by a discretionary traveler prior to, during, and following a trip. The central proposition that the authors have given by this theory is that the thoughts, decisions, and behaviors with regards to an activity have a major impact on the thoughts, decisions, and behaviors for the other activities. Further in the article, the authors have used exit interview travel data and quick clustering analysis for the purpose of examining the seven main propositions of tourism consumption system on the basis of which the tourists take decisions. It has also been said by the authors that this approach is very beneficial for the marketers and practitioners with regards to tourism and this would greatly help them in increasing the effectiveness of the tourism marketing strategies. Tourism Behavior The set of responses that the people develop with regards to tourism develop tourism behavior and this determines their likeliness and their interest. There are some elders who opt for places which are more lively and colorful while there are some people in the ageing population who prefer going to places which are calm and serene. Sustainable Tourism According to Dubelaar and Woodsie (2002), tourism involves a certain cost which can be monetary as well as time and energy of the tourists. Since the ageing popula

Marie Antoinette Essay Example for Free

Marie Antoinette Essay Queen Marie Antoinette lived in France Just over 200 years ago. At the start of her life, she was surrounded by love by the people and luxury. But after many years of heartache and disappear, Marie dies a prisoner. Hatred by millions of ordinary people and deserted by most of her rich friends. We see Marie life change dramatically by a few different decisions made. There were many issues that surrounded the tragic death of Marie, but people fail to recognize what good she brought to France and how she was greatly Judged by all the people of France. There are different attitudes that the public had. This was influenced by many issues including her background being Austrian and the different interpretations that were laid of her, and most importantly, the effect that she had on the French Revolution. As Maries life was short by dieing at the age of 37 she made a great impact on France and even the world. Marie Antoinette was born in Austria, a daughter of Francis l, Holy Roman Emperor, and Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. She was born on the same day as the famous earthquake of Lisbon. As with most royal daughters, Marie Antoinette was promised in marriage in order uild a diplomatic alliance between her birth family and the family of her husband. Marie Antoinette married the French dauphin, Louis, grandson of Louis XV of France, in 1770. He ascended the throne in 1774 as Louis WI. Marie Antoinette was welcomed in France at first. Her frivolity contrasted with the withdrawn personality of her husband. After her mother died in 1780, she became more extravagant and this led to growing resentment. The French were suspicious of her ties to Austria and her influence on the King in attempting to foster policies friendly to Austria. Marie Antoinette, formerly welcomed, now was vilified for her spending habits and opposition to reforms. The 1785-86 Affair of the Diamond Necklace, a scandal in which she was accused of having an affair with a cardinal in order to obtain a costly diamond necklace, further discredited her and reflected on the monarchy. After an initial slow start at the expected role of childbearer, her husband apparently had to be coached in his role in this; Marie Antoinette gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in 1778, and sons in 1781 and 1785. By most accounts she was a devoted other. The attitude towards Marie Antoinette was very negative for basically for her whole life. It started off with troubles with her family life. Marie Antoinette found her husband and life at court boring. She spent most of her time with her friends and neglected her duties. The French began to say that she was a silly foreigner who spent too much time. Her popularity increased after her first child was born in 1778. Regardless of these changes, the public continued to blame her for her previous She was called Madame Deficit, and became the subject of pornographic, pro- evolutionary propaganda. While the phrase, Let them eat cake was never spoken by Marie Antoinette, the rumor illustrates the public sentiment for the queen on whom they blamed every unfortunate circumstance. Likewise, the Diamond Necklace Affair contributed further to the queens demise although she had no involvement in the situation whatsoever. In an effort to increase his status within the French court, Cardinal de Rohan fell victim to Comtesse de La Motte who hired a prostitute to pose as the queen and meet the cardinal in the Versailles garden at night and then old the cardinal that the queen wished for him to purchase an extravagant diamond necklace in her behalf. The necklace was purchased in the queens name, given to La Motte by the cardinal, who in turn gave it to her husband who sold it in London. The scandal became public when the Jeweler demanded payment for the necklace from the queen. Though both the cardinal and La Motte were tried for their crimes, the situation spurred on more rumors. When a mob descended on Versailles in 1789, demanding blood, Marie Antoinette faced the crowd alone, going out on a balcony with a bow and curtsey. The family was then moved to the Tuilere Palace in Paris where they were kept on house arrest. The familys attempt to flee in 1791 was thwarted by the means of transportation chosen by the queen herself. Refusing to leave her children behind to follow her and the king, Marie Antoinette insisted that the family flee together in a larger, slower coach than originally proposed, which enabled their capture. On August 10, 1792, the royal family was arrested on suspicion of treason and on January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was executed. After her husbands death, in July 1793, Marie Antoinettes son was aken from her. The poor woman begged that her son be allowed to stay but she was powerless to change the will of the ministers. The boy was put under the care of Simon, a cobbler and one of the Commissaires of the Commune, and died of neglect within two years. In September 1793, Marie Antoinette was separated from her daughter and sister in law. Now called Widow Capet, Marie was transferred to months of solitary confinement in the dank Conciergerie prison, where she was under twenty-four hour guard by revolutionaries who from behind their screen watched her every move. The Conciergerie prison was the antechamber to death. In this dank prison, she lost much weight and her eyesight began to fail, but she did not have long to live. On October 14, she was woken by the Revolutionary Tribunal. The trial was a horror, with the Queen attacked more as a person than as a queen. Her own son was forced to testify that she abused him. The queen bravely replied to all charges and to this she said, If I make no reply, it is because I cannot, I appeal to all mothers in this audience. Despite her eloquence, the verdict was never in doubt. Like the king, Marie was found guilty. When she came to her death on October 16, 1793, many gasped for Marie Antoinette was Just 38, but the crowd saw (as artist David sketched) an old hag in peasant garb, ragged and grey a stark contrast to elegant and voluptuous Queen of Trianon, the child of fortune, she had been Just 4 years earlier. Marie Antoinettes in the garbage cart amid the crowds whistles and Jeers. Yet, the poor woman sat straight and tried to retain her dignity. To the end, Marie Antoinette displayed a queens bearing and courage, in the face of all adversity. After her final ordeal, the body of Marie Antoinette was harshly pushed on to the guillotine plank, her head placed in the vice and at noon the blade fell to loud cheers all round. Never has Piere Duchesne seen such Joy as seeing that whores head separated from her crains neck. Sanson held her bleeding head high for all to see. Later her head was throne in the cart between her legs. The body of Marie Antoinette was left on the grass before being dumped in an unmarked grave. So ended the life of once the most illustrious and glamorous woman in all Europe.

Many corporations are over managed and underled

Many corporations are over managed and underled Differentiate between management and leadership in the context of the statement many corporations are over-managed and under-led. (15) Management and leadership are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, it describes two different concepts. Here, we shall first define management and leadership. Second, we will focus on the leadership styles and how they affect the managerial task. Jones and George (2009:5) define management as planning, organizing, leading and controlling of human and other resources to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively. According to Saha (2006:2) management is the conscious effort to form the environment by effectively utilizing the available resources. She further states that management is the skill of efficiently organizing the present scenario from a past viewpoint in order to shape the future. Leadership has been defined in many different ways, but most definitions share the assumption that it involves the process of influence that is concern with facilitating the performance of a shared task. Jones et al. (2009:494) defines leadership as the process by which a person exerts influence over people and inspire, motivates and directs their activities to help achieve group or organizational goals. Saha (2006:289) in her definition believes leadership is getting people to do things they never thought of doing, do not believe are possible or that they do not want to do. The definitions available, all describe management and leadership a two different ways of organizing people. Ehlers and Lazenby (2007: 220) believe that leadership and management complement each other, and expertise in both is necessary for successful strategy implementation and survival. A company that is well-led will not do well without effective management; similarly a company that is well-managed will also not do well without effective leadership. Managing organizations is therefore a complex activity. Managers must possess a wide range of skills, knowledge and abilities to enable them to make the right decision even in difficult situations. Leadership is one of the assets a successful manager must possess. However, a manager cannot just be a leader; he also needs authority to be effective. Following is Kotters distinction between Management and leadership as presented in the Regent Business School Study Guide (2007: 136). Management Leadership Direction Planning and budgeting Keeping eye on bottom line Creating vision and strategy Keeping eye on horizon Alignment Organizing and staffing Directing and controlling Creating boundaries Creating shared culture and values Helping other grow Reducing boundaries Relationships Focusing on objects producing/selling goods and services Based on position power Acting as boss Focusing on people inspiring and motivating followers. Based on personal power Acting as coach, facilitator, servant Personal Qualities Emotional distance Expert mind Talking Conformity Insight into organization Emotional connections (heart) Open mind (Mindfulness) Listening (communication) Nonconformity (Courage) Insight to self (Character) Outcomes Maintains stability, creates culture and efficiency Creates change and a culture of integrity Table1: Management vs Leadership (Business Regent School Guide., 2007: 137) According to Gaddini (2010: 1-2) [online] many corporations are over-managed and under-led. If they are to have a sustainable future, they must develop the capacity of individuals across the organization to exercise leadership more effectively. In recent years, organizations committed a lot of financial resources towards enhancing information technology, improved systems and innovations. Leaders need to be much more than information or task managers. They need to engage the organization by involving people at every level. Over managing an organization has to do with the management style a manager is using in running the organization, how much time they spend talking with their people about why things must get done? Companies need to identify, train and develop employees with managerial skills. To successfully manage a company, managers also need to be self-aware and be able to build teams, crate global management and marketing practices, and interact and manage employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. Noe (2005: 10) believes that effective managers are important because they help retain employees as one of the reasons employees leave jobs is the working condition created by managers. Saha (2006:18) describe persons management style as a typical pattern of behaviour she shows in carrying out a management role over a period of time. Management styles are the ways in which a manager deals with the employees or subordinates. Cronje et al. (2000: 152) believe that leadership and its models are driven by the assumption that certain personality traits and behaviour patterns are crucial to a leaders success. Jones et al (2009: 497) believes that a managers personal leadership style shapes the way that manger approaches planning, organizing and controlling. There are different styles to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The styles used are based on a combination of the managers beliefs and preferences as well as the culture and norms of the organization. Following are leadership styles as described by Jones et al. (2009: 497-500), Cronje et al. (2000: 152-) and Anonymous. (2010: 1-2) [online]: Participatory/Democratic leadership Style In a participatory management style the worker can make a contribution to the design of their own work. Managers who practice this engage in certain types of behaviour. Employees are encouraged to be part of the decision making process. To engage the workers, they establish and communicate the purpose and direction of the organization. This help in developing a shared vision of what the organization should be. The managers role therefore is that of a leader. By her actions and words, she shows the way to her employees. She is also a coach, evaluating the results of her peoples efforts and helping them use the results to improve their processes. In this regard, decision taking takes time and thus the organization cannot afford to make mistakes. Autocratic leadership Style The premise of the autocratic management style is the belief that in most cases, the worker cannot make a contribution to their own work, and that even if they could, they would not. This goes with the classical approach. The manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. He does not consult employees, not are they allowed to give any input. Subordinates are expected to obey orders without any explanations. Bureaucratic leadership style Gaddini believed that lack of personal contact between different arms of an organization has reduced peoples understanding of important regional, national and cultural differences. Therefore, as a result, most non-value-added activities are caused by poor communication skills and bad decision making. Managers need to take responsibility for the people who work for them, rather than simply managing the tasks the people perform. In conclusion, there is no one good method as the leadership style followed will also depend on the mangers personal background, the subordinates background and the companys traditions The leadership will thus no longer focus on power but on achievement. Evaluate this statement by examining the sources of leader power and discuss whether such a leadership style can be explained in terms of any leadership model (theory). (20) There are many ways to understand how leadership works in an organization. From the different views available, there seems no single or simple answer to which leadership style is best. Some leadership perspectives are currently more popular than others; however, each helps us to understand this complex issue. We will look at the five sources of leader power and discuss whether such a leadership style can be explained in terms of any leadership theory. Leaders influence others because of the power they possess. Cronje, Du Toit and Motlatla (2000: 151). Defined power defined as a measure of a persons ability to control the environment around them, including the behaviour of other persons According to Luthans (2005: 558) in achievement-oriented leadership, the leader sets challenging goals for subordinates and shows confidence that they will achieve these goals and perform well. The five sources of leader power are legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, referent power and expert power. Effective leaders take steps to ensure that they have sufficient levels of each type of power and they use the power they have in beneficial ways (Jones et al., 2009: 500) Legitimate power According to Jones et al (2009: 500) this is the authority that a manager has by virtue of her position in an organizations hierarchy. The leader has the right or the authority to tell others what to do and employees are obligated to obey. According Cronje et al (2000: 151) legitimate power refers to the authority granted in a business to a particular position. Accordingly, a manager has the right to dismiss employees if they fail to comply. However, even though managers may possess legitimate power, this in itself does not necessarily make them good leaders. Power of Reward The power of reward relies on the promise of or the ability to deliver a reward in return for desired behaviour. This is also regarded as the power to give or withhold rewards (Jones et al., 2009: 501). Such rewards are for example, salary raises, bonuses and recognition. Effective managers use their reward power in such a way that subordinates feel that their reward signals that they are doing a good job and their efforts are appreciated. Ineffective managers on the other hand use rewards in a more controlling manner that signals that the manager has the upper hand. Coercive power Coercive power is the power that comes from a persons authority to punish (Jones et al., 2009:501). From the viewpoint of followers, its one of the most obvious types of power a leader has. This is the power to enforce compliance through fear, whether psychological, emotional or physical. Robbers often make use of such power through physical force or violence. In this regard, physical force is not a consideration in modern business, but psychological or emotional fear of being retrenched, or of social exclusion from a group, constitutes forms of power that may be exercised by managers to put pressure on employees. Jones et al. (2009: 501) believes that ineffective managers tend to rely heavily on this power and sometimes get them fired. Referent power Jones et al. (2009: 503) believes that Referent power is that that comes from subordinates and co-workers respect, admiration and loyalty. Subordinates obey leaders simply because they like or respect them, and identify with them. In other words, the leaders personal characteristics make them attractive to others as some even get to know their subordinates and showing interest in them. Expert power Jones et al. (2009: 501) believes that this power is based on the knowledge the leader possess. Their power gives them influence over subordinates. This is derived from expertise, knowledge and professional ability. A manager who commands all five kinds of power is a strong leader. But it is not only managers, or leaders who possess power, employees possess it occasionally too. For instance when a manager is dependent on subordinates for information, they are needed for their cooperation. Managers should therefore understand that their subordinates also possess power, and that they should use their own power with care, and only to the extent necessary to achieve their objectives. Effective managers will use their power in such a way as to maintain a healthy balance between their own power and that of subordinates. There are different approaches The following leadership theories have been looked at to establish whether the styles discussed above can be explained to any of the theories. Trait Theory The trait theory is described by Jones et al. (2009: 504) as one that describes personal characteristics or traits that contribute to effective leadership. Managers who possess these traits are regarded as not effective leaders and some managers who do not possess all the traits are nevertheless effective leaders. A manager under this theory will be exercising the expert power. Traits here would be knowledge and expertise. There seem to be many studies on leadership traits but they only agree in general qualities needed for be a leader. Behaviour Theory This theory described two kinds of behaviour that most leaders engage in, consideration and initiating structure (Jones et al., (2009: 505-506). For consideration, the behaviour indicates that a manager trusts, respects and cares about the subordinate therefore, the referent and reward power. For initiating structure, subordinates perform their jobs as expected of them and adhere to rules and regulations. A manager under this theory will be using the legitimate power. Contingency Theory This theory takes into account the complexity surrounding leadership and the role of the situation in determining whether a manager is an effective or ineffective leader. Relationship-oriented leaders are most effective in situations that are moderately favourable for leading and will be using the referent power. They develop good relationships with their subordinates and want to be liked by them. Task-oriented leaders are most effective in situations that are very favourable or very unfavourable for leading (Jones et al. (2009: 507-508). Task-oriented leaders will be using the legitimate and coercive powers. They want subordinates to perform at a high level and focus on task accomplishments. Path Goal Theory This theory describes how effective managers motivate their subordinates by determining what outcomes their subordinates want, rewarding subordinates with these outcomes when they achieve their goals and perform at a high level, and clarifying the paths to goal attainment. Managers can engage in four different kinds of behaviours to motivate subordinates: directive behaviours, supportive behaviours, participative behaviours and achievement oriented behaviours (Jones et al. (2009: 510-511). This theory can be used by the leader in different situations. Luthans (2005: 558-559) believes that using one of the four factors stated above, the leader attempts to influence subordinates perceptions and motivate them, which in turn leads to their role clarity, goal expectancies, satisfaction and performance. By doing that the leader attempts to make the path to subordinates goal smooth. The conclusion therefore is that the Path Goal Theory is perceived as the most favourable theory by subordinates as it exerts most influence over them when they behave in ways that closely match their needs and values and requirements of a specific work situation. A flattening of the hierarchy suggests the need to review the organizational structure. With reference to this, identify the factors that influence the choice of an organizational structure. (12) Organizing can be effectively carried out only if the organizational structure has been developed to optimize the execution of strategies and plans. In other words, plans can be successfully implemented only if the organizational structure makes this possible. (Cronje et al. 2000:152). Before identifying the factors that influence the choice of an organizational structure we defined what that is. According to Jones et al. (2009: 346) an organizational structure is a formal system of task and reporting relationship that coordinates and motivates organizational members so that they work together to achieve organizational goals. Jones et al. (2009: 656-659) and Cronje et al. (2000:152) identified the following four factors: The Organizational Environment The environment in which a business operates should be taken as a basis for designing an organizational structure, The more quickly the external environment is changing within it, the greater the problems facing managers in trying to gain access to scarce resources. Managers have to make organizing choices that result in more flexible structures and entrepreneurial cultures. This means they have to decentralize authority, empower lower-level employees to make important operating decisions and encourage values and norms that emphasize change and innovation. If the external environment is stable, resources are readily available and uncertainty is low, managers must make organizing choices that bring more stability or formality to the organizational structure and establish values and norms that emphasize obedience and team players. Less coordination and communication takes place among people and functions to obtain resources. The organizational climate therefore play an important part i n organizational design. The type of structure that leads to the successful implementation of tasks depends on the culture of the business. The structure of a business with a formal culture will differ from one with more informal cultures. Strategy The close relationship between the strategy of a business and the organizational structure, or the infrastructure to implement the strategy is very important. Ehlers et al. (2007: 247) believes that a change in the organizations environment often triggers a change in strategy so that continued success and wealth maximization for all the organizations stakeholders can be sustained. It is therefore important that the organizational structure remains aligned with the strategy at all times. Human Resources There is also a close relationship between an organizational structure and the competence and role of staff. Structure influences both the choice of strategy and the preferences as to how things should be done. Most managers have a personal preference for a particular organizational structure, for the type of relations with subordinates and attitudes to formality and authority. However, they should also pay attention to the needs of the workforce and to the complexity and kind of work employees perform. In this regard, the tendency is to move away from the strictly formal bureaucratic structure and have a flexible structure that is characterized by decentralized authority and empowering employees. Technology Jones et al. (2009: 347) states that technology is the combination of skills, knowledge, machines, and computers that are sued to design, make , and distribute goods and services. As a result, the more complicated the technology that an organization uses, the more difficult it is to regulate or control it because more unexpected event can come up. The more complicated the technology become, the greater the need for a flexible structure and progressive culture to enhance the managers ability to respond to unexpected situations increase. However, the more routine the technology, the more appropriate is a formal structure, because tasks are simple and the steps needed to produce goods and services have been worked out in advance. The size of the business It is equally obvious that the structure also depends on the number of employees and managers to be coordinated. An increase in the size of the business also creates a need for greater specialization, more departments and more levels of management (Cronje et al., 2000: 152. In this regard, Mabey, Salaman and Storey (2005:247) believe that larger organizations would have more complex and formal structure. Nonetheless, even size is not a determining factor: some large organizations have managed to create informal arrangements while some smaller organizations have created more formal systems. Planning, leading and control are facilitated if management has an effective and dynamic organizational structure. Organizing is carried out amid many factors, each of which may provide input in the designing of the organizational structure. Some experts believe that the environment in which a business operates is a decisive factor. Others emphasize the connection between strategy and structure. The size and complexity of the business, the competence of its employees, organizational climate or corporate culture should not be ignored in designing the structure and informing departments and distributing tasks. Whatever is designed should be adaptable to changes in the business environment. With reference to the term devolution of power and authority, explain the need to decentralize authority. (8) Jones et al. (2009: 366) believes that decentralizing authority is giving lower-level managers and non managerial employees the right to make important decisions about how to use organizational resources. When leaders empower their subordinates, they take over some of the responsibilities and authority that used to reside with the leader such as the right to check ones own work and also take decisions that their leaders or supervisors use to make (Jones et al., 2009: 503) Decentralization of authority is need as employees at each level have different but related responsibilities for utilizing organizational resources to increase efficiency and effectiveness (Jones et al., 2009: 15-16). In order to understand decentralization of authority, one needs to understand the management processes and levels and managements. We looked at the levels of leadership as tabulated by Pearce and Robinson (2007: 372) hereunder. When the need for decentralization occurs, the size of the organization should be considered and the geographical location of its branches. If the organization is large and branches are located far from each other, then decentralization of authority should be considered. This will not only speed up the decision-making process and adapt to the local conditions, but importantly empower the employees. With the demarcation of Namibia into thirteen regions, the government has been trying to decentralize some of the authority to the Governors in the various regions. The process has been slow and although people welcomed the idea of allowing the Governors to take decisions based on the needs in their regions, they still feel that they do not all the authority they need. Due to that delays occurs in particular the recruitment processes. It is all still being done at a central place. Attracting resources and capabilities and developing the business RENEWAL PROCESS Developing operating managers and supporting their activities; maintaining organizational trust Providing institutional leadership through shaping and embedding corporate purpose and challenging embedded assumptions Managing operational interdependencies and personal networks INTEGRATION PROCESS Linking skills, knowledge, and resources across units; reconciling short-term performance and long-term ambition Creating corporate direction. Developing and nurturing organizational values Creating and pursuing opportunities; managing continuous performance improvement ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS Reviewing, developing, and supporting initiatives Establishing performances standards Front-Line Management Middle Management top Management Table 2: Management Processes and Levels of Management (Pearce et al., 2007: 372) Leadership is about coping with change. Discuss the relationship between organizational control and change, and explain why the management of change is a vital task. (20) The first question here is to discuss the relationship between organizational control and change. In order to that, we first look at the definitions. Organizational control is defined by Jones et al. (384) as the process whereby managers monitor and regulate how efficiently and effectively an organization and its members are performing the activities necessary to achieve organizational goals. Organizational changes on the other hand is defined as the movement of an organization away from its present state and towards some desired future state to increase its efficiency and effectiveness (Jones et al., 2009: 384). The relationship between organizational control and change is that there need to be balance between control which is the need to improve operations and change which is the need to respond to new events. Managers therefore must balance the need for an organization to improve the way it currently operates and the need for it to change in response to new unanticipated events as illustrated in figure 1 (Jones et al., 2009: 408). The second part of the question required an explanation as to why management of change is a vital task. Jones et al (2009:409) states that management of change is vital as there exist a need to constantly search for ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Managers have to develop the skills necessary like, political skills, analytical skills, people skills, system skill and business skills to manage change effectively. It is also vital for managers when managing change to follow the following steps as discussed by Jones et al (2009: 410-413). Assessing the need for change Deciding how to change an organization is a difficult task because change disrupts the status quo and poses a threat, prompting employees to resist attempts to alter work relationships and procedures. Assessing the need for change calls for two important activities that is recognizing that there is a problem and identifying its source. During the first step in the change process, managers need to recognize that there is a problem that requires change. Managers need to look at performance measures such as falling market share or profits, rising costs, or employees failure to meet their established goals or stay within budgets which indicate whether change is needed. Too identify the source of the problem, managers need to look both inside and outside the organization. Externally, they must examine how changes in environmental forces may be crating opportunities and threats that are affecting internal work relationships. Managers also need to look within the organization to see whether its structure is causing problems between departments. Need to respond to new events Need to improve operationsManagers must balance the need for an organization to improve the way it currently operates and the need for it to change in response to new unanticipated events. Figure 1: Organizational Control and Change (Jones et al., 2009: 408) Deciding on the change to make Once the source of the problem has been identified, managers must now decide what the organizations future would be and plan how they are going to attain that. Managers must also identify the obstacles of resistance and analyze these obstacles which can be at corporate, divisional, departmental and or individual level. It is important for managers to invite employees to participate in the planning for change as it will help overcome resistance and allay employees fears. Managers can also overcome resistance by emphasizing group or shared goals such as increased organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Implementing the change It is generally accepted that management introduce change from top down as they are the ones who identified the need for change, decided what to do and thus move quickly to implement the changes throughout the organization. With this approach, the emphasis is on making the changes quickly and dealing with problems as they arise, which is regarded as revolutionary in nature. This approach has the benefit of providing clear, sustained direction which is well resourced and coordinated, however, it also runs the risk of not being owned by a number of staff and may lead to some distrust. The bottom-up approach is regarded more gradual or evolutionary. Consultation takes place with middle and first-line managers about the need for change and develops a plan. The advantage of this approach is that it minimized uncertainty and resistance as employees participate and are kept informed of what is going on. Evaluating the change Managers need to evaluate how successful the change effort has been in improving organizational performance using measures such as changes in market share, benchmarks and profits. They also need to compare how well an organization is performing after the change with how well it was performing before. Finally, organizational control and change are closely linked because organizations operate in environments that are constantly changing and so mangers must be alert to the need to change their strategies and structures. With reference to the words the opening of existing communication channels and the recreation of new one Describe the communication process and outline the barriers to effective communication in the workplace. (15) Communication is the sharing of information between two or more individuals or groups to reach a common understanding. Good communication matters because business organizations are made up of people (Jones et al. (2009: 567). Communication process consist of two phases: the transmission phase where information is shared between two or more individuals or groups and the feedback phase where understanding is ensured. In both phases, a number of distinct stages must occur for communication to take place. (Jones et al., 2009: 569-570) (See figure 2). In the transmission phase, the sender who is the person or group wishing to share information with another person or group, decides on the message, what information to communicate. The sender then translates the message into symbols or language, a process called encoding. Noise is a general term that refers to anything that hampers any stage of the communication process. Once encoded, the message is transmitted through a medium to the receiver, who is the person or group for which the message is intended. A medium is just the pathway through which an encoded message is transmitted to the receiver. The receiver then interprets and tries to make sense of the message through a process called decoding. The feedback phase will then be initiated by the receiver, who now becomes the sender. The receiver decides what message to send to the original sender (who now is the receiver), encodes it, and transmits it through a chosen medium. The original sender determines that a common understanding has been reached, sender and receiver cycle through the whole process as many times as needed to reach a common understanding. Feedback eliminates misunderstandings, ensures that messages are correctly interpreted, and enables senders and receives to reach a common understanding. The encoding of messages into words, written or spoken, is verb

Psychological Research Report on Perception Essay -- essays research p

ABSTRACT People are thought to be able to mentally rotate an object so as to be able to imagine it in a different orientation. In this experiment partcipants were presented with two three dimensional objects. Some of the pairs of objects where the same object and some of them where different objects. Partcipants were asked to identify whether the second object was the same as the first one in the pair, even though it was shown as being rotated around a set angle, or if it was a completely different object. The reaction time of the partcipant’s was found to be directly related to the degree of the angle of which the object was rotated. METHODS Participants A total of 11 subject participated in this experiment. These participants were from colleges and universities around the world. There was no personal information collected in this experiment such as sex or age or background. The only information gathered was the reaction time data. Participants in this experiment where informed about the nature of this experiment and asked to consent to participate in it. Materials This experiment was conducted over a computer terminal. Participants where presented with pairs of three dimensional objects. These objects consisted of 16 basic objects each presented in 4 different perspectives each adding up to a total of 64 separate presentations. Half of the object pairs presented where of identical objects but where one of the objects where rotated to a specified degree which were identified as same objects. The other half of the pairs presented where of objects that where mirror images of each other and also rotated around a given angle which where identified as different objects. Design and Procedure This experiment was... ...t are consistent with other experiments involving the mental rotation of objects in that in all of these experiments the time which it takes the participants to make a decision linearly increases with the angle of rotation. These results show that the processes of the mind are consistent with the geometric constraints of the real world. The greater the difference in the orientation of an object in reality is equivalent to the difference in the time it takes for a person to identify that object. This is obviously very helpful in the real world where objects can be imagined to be rotated and used as in the example of a dog which would turn a stick around so as to be able to fit it through a hole. It has been proposed that this ability to imagine objects in different orientations has evolved according to the rules governing physics and geometry in the real world.

Science vs Religion Essays -- Human Evolution vs Relgion

â€Å"Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light†years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.† -- Carl Sagan Students bring with them many assumptions about science, about religion, and about their relationship. These assumptions may impact, positively or negatively, their willingness and ability to engage the scientific study of human origins. This essay is provided as a guide to begin thinking about science and religion in the context of the possible interactions of religious worldviews with a scientific account of human evolution and origins. In other words, this essay will explain how human evolution and religion can peacefully coexist. What is science? Science is a way to understand nature by developing explanations for the structures, processes and history of nature that can be tested by observations in laboratories or in the field. Sometimes such observations are direct, like measuring the chemical composition of a rock. Other times these observations are indirect, like determining the presence of an exoplanet through the wobble of its host star. An explanation of some aspect of nature that has been well supported by such observations is a theory. Well-substantiated theories are the foundations of human understanding of nature. The pursuit of such understanding is science. What is religion? Religion, or more appropriately religions, are cultural phenomena comprised of social institutions, traditions of practice, literatures, sacred texts and stories, and sacred places that identify and convey an understanding of ultimate meaning. Religions are very diverse. While it is common for religions to identify the ultimate with a deity (like the western monotheisms – Judaism, Christianity, Islam) or deities, not all do. There are non-theistic religions, like Buddhism. What is the difference between science and religion? Although science does not provide proofs, it does provide explanations. Science depends on deliberate, explicit and formal testing (in the natural world) of explanations for the wa... ...e is practiced without reference to religion. God may be an ultimate explanation, but God is not a scientific explanation. This approach to science is called methodological naturalism. However, this method of isolating religious interests from scientific research is not an example of the separation approach. Historically, this bracketing out of religious questions in the practice of scientific inquiry was promoted by religious thinkers in the 18th and 19th centuries as the most fruitful way to discover penultimate rather than ultimate explanations of the structures and processes of nature. A third possibility for the relationship between science and religion, one of interaction, at minimum holds that dialogue between science and religion can be valuable, more that science and religion can constructively benefit from engagement, and at maximum envisions a convergence of scientific and religious perspectives. Generally, this view encourages an effort to explore the significance of scientific understanding for religious understanding and vice versa. With this approach science remains relevant beyond the classroom for many people who might otherwise ignore scientific findings.

The Ancient Maya Essay -- essays research papers

The Maya of Mesoamerica, along with the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru, made up the high civilizations of the American Indians at the time of the Spanish conquest. Both the Aztecs and the Incas were late civilizations, between 1300-1533 AD, but the Maya of the Yucatan and Guatemala exhibited a cultural continuity spanning more than 2,000 years, 1000 BC-AD 1542. Many aspects of this culture continue yet today. The Ancient Maya in their time had actually refined writing. They had an extensive written language, which was both phonetic as well as ideographic. One of only five independently created writing systems in human history. Maya words were in hieroglyphs, each picture with its own meaning. Unlike other ancient Central American civilizations, the Maya could write in words, sentences, and even stories. Arranging several pictures together in a logical form would create a story. The Maya covered their cities and buildings with hieroglyphs carved into the stone. Most of the Maya could read some hieroglyphs, but the priests and nobles were the only people who actually had knowledge of the entire language. The Maya would also use quills made of turkey feathers to write in books made of soft bark taken from a type of fig tree. Religion was the center of the Mayan life. Mayans believed that there were two levels of the world. The first level was the physical world and the second was the spiritual world, which consisted of the old dead ancestors, ...

“Tyronian” Tragedy

In Eugene O'Neill's agonizingly autobiographical play Long Day's Journey into Night, readers are introduced a dismal family situation. Drugs, death, illness and failure lace each conversation, and regret flows almost as unreservedly as the alcohol. In such a tragedy, one would expect to have a clear idea of with whom the blame lies. In this piece of drama, however, there is a distinct inability to do so. Eugene O'Neill persistently manipulates the emotional responses of the reader. This manipulation keeps partiality off balance and uncertain. O'Neill accomplishes this by allowing readers to sympathize with one family member. Once sympathy is established for one particular character, that character promptly says, or does, something that loses the reader's alliance, along with the alliance of whichever character he or she is berating at that particular moment. This results in the reader's inability to discern who, precisely, is culpable for the Tyrone family's situation. The idea of assigning culpability in Long Day's Journey Into Night is almost humourous. Even if one wanted to, it would be difficult to sort through years of built up anger, layer upon layer of repression, and huge amounts of guilt in each character; for each character is at fault for one thing or another, and, in addition, each character blames someone else for his or her problem. For example, Mary blames her husband and his tightfistedness for her addiction to morphine. Due to their mother being an addict, Jamie is unable to bring girls home, thus he visits prostitutes. Such behavior has influenced his younger brother Edmund, â€Å"making him old before his time† (35). Consequently, Jamie is at fault for Edmund's poor health. In turn, his mother, for causing the addiction by being brought into the world, as well as worsening it with his own illness, blames Edmund. And so, the vicious circle continues. However, if one does not wish to inflict upon one's distinguished teaching assistant a painfully long dissertation of each member's contributions to the tragedy and the results thereof, one ought to maintain, for argument's sake, that the majority of the culpability lies with James Tyrone, for his behaviour in regards to money, alcohol, and his own status as a failed actor. James's father had left the family when James was only ten years of age. This left James as the man of the family, working twelve hours each day to help provide for his mother and three sisters. As James explains, â€Å"It was in those days I learned to be a miser†(151). He feels proud of his savings, and announces to his family in regards to buying something: â€Å"I got them dead cheap†(15). His own early recognition of the importance of money explains his continual contempt for his own children's lack of concern when it comes to working: â€Å"What do you know of the value of a dollar? (150). He accuses Jamie of being lazy and having no ambition. Not only does James Tyrone wish his sons understood the value of money, but since they do not, he is forced to be miserly enough for the whole family. Consequently, the family resents his overly economic ways. There are many attacks throughout the play on James Tyrone for this, the first one being Jamie accusing him of not sending Edmund to a real doctor for his illness when he first got sick. Jamie says, â€Å"Hardy only charges a dollar. That's what makes you think he's a fine doctor! â€Å"(31). Later, another dialogue gives an even worse view of the situation; Tyrone sending Edmund to a cheap sanatorium, but spending money on real estate: JAMIE: Well, for God's sake, pick out a good place and not some cheap dump! TYRONE: (Stung) I'll send him wherever Hardy thinks best! JAMIE: Well, don't give Hardy your old over-the-hills-to-the-poorhouse song about taxes and mortgages. TYRONE: I'm no millionaire who can throw money away! Why shouldn't I tell Hardy the truth? JAMIE: Because he'll think you want him to pick a cheap dump, and because he'll now it isn't the truth i especially if he hears afterwards you've seen McGuire and let that flannel-mouth, gold-brick merchant sting you with another piece of bum property! (82) Later realizing the anger this statement comes from, James Tyrone offers Edmund â€Å"any place you like! Never mind what it costs! Any place I can afford. Any place you like†. Sadly, there follows the stipulation Tyrone cannot seem to shake off: â€Å"Within reason. â€Å"(151). Cheap medical care seems to be Tyrone's weakness. As Mary Tyrone makes clear, his tightfisted ways result, though inadvertently, in her downfall as well, due to a doctor giving her morphine as an easy fix. â€Å"But bearing Edmund was the last straw. I was so sick afterwards, and that ignorant quack of a cheap hotel doctor-All he knew was I was in pain. It was easy for him to stop the pain. â€Å"(90) Tyrone is also to blame for his wife's general unhappiness, not just her addiction to morphine. Mary says to Edmund that she has never been happy in the house, because â€Å"Everything was done in the cheapest way. Your father would never spend the money to make it right. (45). The subsequent scene has Mary come downstairs (60), in a detached sort of manner. She complains bitterly to Edmund about Tyrone's inability to make a real home. He is too stingy to build a real home, with good servants, and so she has suffered all her life. When Tyrone himself comes in, she says in continuation of her previous statements † I'm sick and tired of pretending this is a home! You won't help me! â€Å"(69). She goes on to say that had he remained a bachelor â€Å"Then nothing would have happened. † This indicates strongly that she blames him too. Tyrone condemns Mary for her addiction, yet feels no guilt or responsibility for it, taking away any amount of forgiveness readers may have parted with in Tyrone's favour. The amusing part of this however, is while he condemns his wife for substance abuse, the same thing is his own major vice. Mary tells her husband: † I would never have married you if I'd known you drank so much† (115). She also launches into a story about their honeymoon, when Tyrone was dragged home intoxicated. It appears that in a fashion similar to that of their father, Jamie and Edmund seem quite partial to alcohol. In fact, the entire family seems unable to confront reality without chemical assistance. Mary's words indicate that drinking all day is a common Tyrone family activity: â€Å"I know what to expect. You will be drunk tonight. Well, it won't be the first time, will it i or the thousandth? † (72). The Tyrone men validate their drinking habits with folk wisdom about whiskey's alleged health benefits: â€Å"It's before a meal and I've always found that good whiskey, taken in moderation as an appetizer, is the best of tonics† (68). Alcohol has contributed to Jamie's failures. It has hurt Edmund's health. And it becomes a source of conflict between Jamie and Tyrone, as Jamie consistently steals his father's whiskey, replacing the amount taken with water, so his father won't take notice. Regrettably, the alcohol solves no problems, and problems get more intricate as the tongues loosen from the booze. The three men share a drink, but none of the social magic of alcohol seems to work. Tyrone, Edmund and Jamie remain as miserable as ever. The last, most driving element of James Tyrone's guilt is his status as a failed actor. In act four of the play, James Tyrone relates something to his youngest son that he has never told anyone before. He explains that since his father left the family when he was ten, he grew up to be miserly. Thus he was quick to give up artistic fulfillment in exchange for financial security, ruining his career as † one of the three or four young actors with the greatest artistic promise in America†(153). James Tyrone now muses that he doesn't even know what it was he had wanted to buy. It appears that James has never forgiven himself for this, and therefore inflicts it on his family and neighbours. Mary says in regards to the neighbours: â€Å"they bowed to your father and he bowed back as if he were taking a curtain call†(44). Jamie relates that Tyrone puts on an act for everybody (57). Tyrone begins to quote a play almost as tragic as his own family life, but his son, obviously well versed in his father's repertoire of chastisements from King Lear, finishes the sentence before his father can continue, with † ‘to have a thankless child'. I know†(92). His sons also immediately think in terms of tragedy when referring to their father, quoting Othello in reference to James's snoring: † ‘The Moor, I know his trumpet'†(21). It appears that Tyrone turns his own life into a tragedy, like the ones he once portrayed so well upon the stage, switching affections and emotions like he would have to between scenes, although his family isn't as accepting of this as Edwin Booth and the critics obviously were. But why bother to deal with the question of fault? After all, the characters themselves claim not to care about it, such as in act two, scene two, when James Tyrone tries to blame Edmund's consumptive state on Mary's side of the family. Jamie cries out against blame: â€Å"Who gives a damn about that part of it! â€Å"

How effectively did Philip II manage his finances? Essay

The fiscal statistics of Philips reign would overwhelmingly conclude that he completely failed to effectively negotiate his pay. His transmitted debts had increased tercefold during his reign, and subsequently, the Crown say unsuccessful person no less than three times. In contrast to this charm, it can be argued that Philip was effective as cold as he was equal. His mishap was non collectable to incompetence for certainly, he do attempts to castigate the situation, but instead due to the legion(predicate) impossibilities that surrounded the magnificent Finance.Philips futile approach to relegateling Finance is gener everyy summed up by saying that as ruler of the Monarquia, he was never able to match his income to his extortionate expenditure. This pricy insurance policy was due to the amount of m peerlessy reinforcement war. Travelling costs, continuous updating of armaments and issue of soldiers consumed the vast bulk of Philips pay. plane this failed at ti mes, as seen by the disgust of the unpaid soldiers in the Netherlands. Philips conglomerate was so extensive that he was called upon to go to war in the interests of many distinguishable nations. His wars were not all territorial, much(prenominal) as the defence of Italian lands, his own dynastic interests in France and England had to be defended, as did the Catholic morality against the Turks. Philip was in addition drawn into costly civil wars. As a result, Royal money was frequently spent all over the Monarquia, and often on places that were not raising the money.This again reflects Philips bad watchfulness of finance whereupon countries could not be relied upon to be self-sufficient or contribute to wars fought on behalf of the entire Monarquia. The result of this was that Castile bore the brunt of the exertion to storehouse the Monarquia. This was an unreasonable burden, as Castile take up neither the wealth, the manpower or the economical strength demanded off it. This policy of Philip still proves his ill-managed Royal finances. Such heavy tax income income on one part of the Monarquia exclusively sent Castile into steady decline. Instead of beingness a successfully self- championed land, Castile began to heavily think on outside imports, increasing the venture of further inflation, a threat that remained since its bombardment early in Philips reign passim his inherited lands.Philips highly infective attention is rein force by his failure to set up out of debt despite increased r up to nowue. coin from the wealthy Americas boosted the wealth of Castile, as did the revenue from the Indies. Philip also increased finance through with(predicate) taxation, which hindquartersfired, and through borrowing money. Philip was forced into negotiating multiform loans with moneylenders that would allow him to continue paying back old debts while receiving fresh ones. However, even this was not enough to keep Philip from greatly failing finan cially, and declaring bankruptcy in 1557, 1575 and at last in 1596. The 36 million Ducat debts that he inherited became 68 million Ducats by the end of his reign. The diabolical state of finance was not helped by the grandiose modus vivendi of the King, who maintained the mentality of the ever- classical prestige display. Moreover, Philip failed to be interested in Fiscal matters, and appeared to frame plans without winning the care to cost them through.Philip seemed to have greatly failed to be efficient on handling Royal finances. However, an opposite view could argue that Philip made the best of a bad situation. For example, he managed to re-stabilise finance after(prenominal) the bankruptcies. Philip was initially dealt a bad hand by inheriting both a great debt and an extended empire from his father. This would have in mind a need for further finance, and Philip was today go about to raise this form a minus figure. Moreover, the increased lands now tagged as Philips Mo narquia, would involve extended foreign war involvement, and in turn, war expenditure. The need to go to war in the interests of his inherited lands was forced upon the new ruler. fight came with the territory, and the territory came with the inheritance.Philip had no choice in defending both his territories and his religion so the increased expenditure that resulted in bankruptcy was arguably inevitable and out of Philips control. Moreover, it is important to remember that the first declaration of bankruptcy was a further inheritance of Philip from his father, Charles I. Philip was faced with more difficulties from the outset of his reign. Inflation was taking hold in many countries crosswise Europe, forcing Philip to find increasing amounts of money to fund both the running of government and also war expenditure. Moreover, territories such as the Netherlands that has antecedently provided great income for Charles, became a drain on finances. The Netherlands then, revolted against Philip and instead of contributing to the Royal finance, Philip was forced to spend increasing amounts combating the rebels.It is also displace that Philip attempted to address the problem of explosive finances. The reorganisation of the departments of Finance was undertaken in send to increase efficiency. Philip was also effective in increasing revenue during his reign, albeit mostly in Castile. New taxes were introduced and old ones modified so that the wars of Spain could be funded. The alacabala for instance, tripled in it yield by the end of Philips reign. Custom duties were effectively reorganised so that they were received directly by the Crown instead of the old mode whereby tax farmers would retain a estimable proportion of the money collected. The cruzda was introduced by the church building to fund the wars against the Turks, and this too was effective by doubling its yield. Another new tax was effectively introduced to tax church property, furthering Philips incom e. The subsido an animate tax was equally successful in increasing its revenue.Evidence of Philips effective policies involving finance are reflected in the decrease of firm expenditure during his reign. This shows that Philip has recognised the responsibility he had to improve the state of Royal finance. This could be considered impressive due to the mentality that Philip, and other Kings of this period, were fixed in. This was the age in which religion and national prestige far outweighed the sine qua non to deal with Finance.It can convincingly be argued then, that Philip was a highly overworked King who made the best of a bad situation. He attempted, with limited personal time and resources, to manage the situation, and did so with reasonable success. Certainly he was effective in the matters which he did change, such as taxation. It can be verbalize that financial failure was inevitable and that is was unacceptable for Philip to effectively succeed in redress control of r oyal finance. I support this view as a far more realistic and pragmatic one than the opposing view which argues that Philip failed to deal with the inherent problems of Royal Finance. Instead he ignore opportunities to effectively reform finance so that bankruptcy was caused several times, indicated ultimately his failure to manage finance.