The Sultans of Kabult free essay sample

The Kite Runner is an epic story centered around Amir, a 12 year old boy living in 1970s Kabult, Afganistan with his father, Baba. Amir is a one of a kind character in the sense that you have completely different views and opinions of him following every couple of chapters; this is due to the constant changing of his sense of belonging, his perception of his father, and the way he sees Afghanistan. When these changes occure, he becomes mature and learns that the world is going to change one way or another, he also sees the beauty of his youth that he has come to know a place of freedom, life, and solidarity turn into nothing but violence and fear amoung the living citizens of Afghanistan after Russia invaded during the 1970s. Amirs sense of belonging in the world plays a huge part in everything that occures in the book. In early 1970s Afghanistan, Amir doesnt see himself in Babas life once so ever; he feels incredibly jealous due to his father showing more attention to Hasson on different occasions and feels hes being bought out by his father in order to replace 1 on 1 time with him considering they never have that time throughout the entire length of the book. We will write a custom essay sample on The Sultans of Kabult or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His desperation for Babas attention causes him to act irrationally and turns on Hasson by planting his watch under Hassons pillow which causes him to some what get in trouble with Baba. Then time skips to the year 2,000 now taking place in San Francisco, at this time Amir has just graduated college and is enjoying a celebratory beer with Baba. By this time Amir couldnt care less about getting attention from his dad, it will always be in the back of his mind but he gave up and moved on with his life. Their relationship at this time is more of a buddy buddy friendship rather then a father son one. Even with the dad not really giving that much attention to Amir, hes made it clear that he is very much so proud of his sons achievements, its debatable that he cares about Afghanistan rising from the ashes, cause by Russia, more than anything else in the world. Through out the entire book he teaches amir about Afganistan pride and how to never forget where he came from rather than teaching him whats right and wrong. Amirs views of Afghanistan is dramatically changed as the tie period shifts from 20th century Afghan, to 21st century Afghan. As a young boy he seen Afghanistant as a beautiful place with no worries, no problems, and the ability to be care free; excluding his relationship issues between him and Baba and the racist bullies this is shown through how much he talks about and cares for Afghanistan. His feelings come out through his actions: the amount of compassion he shows for the sport of kite flying, the carving into the branch saying The Sultans of Kabult, and how badly his heart is broken when he sees what Afghanistan has become when he comes back for his nephew in the 21st century. Upon Amirs arival into Kabult, he is in utter shock and in disbelief when he sees how his place of youth and purity has turned into a place rittered with violence and chaos. To make it worse the god like character of the movie, his brother Hasson, died a week before his arrival by a gunshot when defend ing the things that meant the world to him: his son Sohrab, wife Farzana, and his homeland (Kabult, Afghanistan). Amirs sense of belonging stimulates from which point of time hes in: during 1970s Afghanistan, his only sense of belonging is getting the full undivided attention of his father instead of the attention going to Hasson. He wants to reach this goal so desperately that he chucks pomagranits at Hasson, tries to get get him fired by his own dad, and allows him to get raped by a bunch of bullies that Hasson protects Amir from. Amir in the 21st century is a confident college graduate who gives unconventional love to Baba and Farzana. Rather than seeking attention, he is now simply enjoying life itself and is living without regrets even though his life in Afghanistan will always be in the back of his mind his sense of belonging is giving his full attention to Farzana by caring for her, writing more stories for them both to enjoy, and in a way preserving the pride that lies amoung the citizens of Kabult; he does this by making sure his relationship status stays within his heritage (Amir is not a racist, he just prefers a partner who has the same cultural background as he does, someone who speaks his language/ in no way is he like the indivisuals who raped Hasson), going back to his homeland to rescue his nephew, and doing so without any fear thou he has yet to see what has become of Kabult over the years since he moved to America nor worries and is optimistic about what the future lies for him, his blood family, and the country of Afghanistan. Later on in the year 2,000, Amir has return from Kabult to San Francisco with his nephew, Sohrab. Amir dedicates this part of his life treating Sohrab the same way Hasson treated him as a kid: with care, the need to protect, and the love that only a father/best friend can give, or even love that can only be given by a godly source (assuming that a God exists). Amir is a character that can only be explained through his emotions and the state of mind he is in during all three points of time: 1970s Kabult, 21st century San Francisco, and late 2,000 when he goes and comes back to and from Kabult, Afghanistan. His sense of belonging, his perception Baba, and the way he views Afghanistan changes dramatically through out the entire book. As a complicated character, Amir deserves admiration for learning from every single mistake he has made in the past and putting it into his current life in order to hae a bright future with a conforting and warming family in peace and harmony (Hassons life is being lived through Amir, another God reference, more over a Jesus reference).

Britain a multicultural society Essays

Britain a multicultural society Essays Britain a multicultural society Essay Britain a multicultural society Essay Muliticulturalism is defined as the existence of different minority groups maintaining their identities. The way of expressing the growing cultural diversity of Western societies is to talk the language of multi-culturism neatly dividing up societies into homogenous traditions of communities. However this approach has serious limitations, not least because it shares many of the assumptions of new racism about fixed, immutable differences between ethnicities.  Culture is conceived along ethnically absolute lines, not as something intrinsically fluid, changing and unstable, and dynamic, but as a fixed property of social groups rather than a relational field in which they encounter one another and live out social, historical relationships. (Gilroy, 1993, pp.24) Issues surrounding ethnic minorities have been at the forefront of British politics as long as parliamentary democracy, whilst racist attitudes towards aliens, foreigners and strangers have ensued for just as long. Yet, whilst racism is no recent development, the approaches taken by the state to deal with it have significantly changed in the last half-century. Previous efforts to deal with non-white immigrants were primarily concerned with reducing the numbers of ethnic minorities entering the country and to a lesser extent integrate them into society and indeed a sense of Britishness. For example, Back (2002) ponders on the way successive Conservative governments from 1979 to 1997 reified the British way of life as a national treasure to be defended from enemies within'. (Back, 2002, pp.445) However recent political developments have rightly made it popular to recognise certain differences in minority groups. More specifically, acknowledging societal and economic inequalities suffered by first generation immigrants and ancestors of previous immigrants alike have meant the establishment is much more understanding and accommodating over issues such as education, housing, and welfare needs, to name but a few. This has become known as mainstreaming, for this implies the similar aim of gradual integration yet departs from previous thinking in that society must accept and change to a certain extent round minority interests, rather than the opposite. Seaford (2001) asserts that an inclusive and democratic society should function in an open, fair and just manner, so that everyone has a stake in the decisions which affect them. (Seaford, 2001 pp.107) Furthermore, she poses the question;  What makes people feel that it is their country? Partly having equal civil and political rights, partly being able to join in the national culture and share aspirations for the future, but also a feeling that their own personal story and that of their family is entwined with the national story. (Seaford, 2001 pp.107)  Obviously, these can only be achieved by surpassing certain problems that prevent the full implementation of mainstreaming. Many people would argue that Britain is not only clearly a multicultural society, but also a multiethnic and multifaith society, to display this they point to a number of factors clearly displayed in British culture. The change in British landscape Religious symbols such as temples, mosques, synagogues are apparent all over Britain and promote a multifaith society. This idea of a multifaith society is also apparent in the acceptance and allowances made for religious clothing, such as turbans and headscarves, to be allowed in the workplace, schools and other public places.  The development of food outlets, including Chinese and Indian restaurants and the obvious acceptance of different cultures due to Britains favourite dish being Chicken Tikka Masala, is another factor of British culture which could be used to argue that Britain is a multicultural society. British popular culture including films and music also help to promote multiculturism. Films such as Bend it like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice which are dominated by actors from ethnic minorities, often hit the big screens and are very popular in cinemas, which helps to promote ethnic identity and educate people about different ethnic cultures. Another form of British popular culture, which helps to promote multiculturism, is music. The introduction of black music from the Caribbean in the 1970s, such as the music of Bob Marley began to introduce British people to music from different cultures. This continued throughout the 1980s with British black people beginning to introduce themselves into the popular music scene, creating a new type of popular music, which still had the basic elements of their cultural influence behind it. Furthermore, the development of music such as the bhangra infusion of sounds Punjabi songs added to a western beat, displayed by famous artists such as Cornershop, Asian Kool and Punjabi MC, helped bring the culture and music of ethnic minority groups into the West. Many of the tracks were recorded especially for English music channels such as The Box and MTV, and keeping the western beat made it even more appealing to young British people, while still introducing them to and educating them about different cultures. Most importantly though, is probably the role of TV to show the change in the last 40years and the development of multiculturism. In the 1960s and 70s programmes such as love thy neighbour and mind your own language, ridiculed and mocked the cultures of ethnic minorities, which can be established simply from the titles of the programmes. However more recently programmes such as Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars and The Real McCoy, produced by Asian dominated casts, has reserved this mockery and turned the jokes on a head, having a go at English for being racist, whilst showing that they really are just like the rest of us even though they may have a stronger culture than most white British people, which isnt necessarily a bad thing. In short it is claimed that people in Britain are now allowed to attain their ethnicity and religion and are allowed to talk / eat / live where and what they want, which ultimately promotes multiculturalism.  However, many other people claim that these developments over the last 40years have not promoted multiculturism but have infact increased segregation. They claim that since the 1960s people from ethnic minorities have been clumped together, for example in Bradford and Birmingham, where there is a very large Asian community. This forced segregation and clumping together of ethnic minorities is in itself not only a form or racism but also stimulation for it.

Case Study Analysis Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Study Analysis - Term Paper Example has to be blamed for the current troubling scenario. This paper is an attempt to evaluate the key problems, suggests some handy solutions as well as propose suitable recommendations for the company and employees. Analysis of Carl Robins Case Study Introduction: The knowledge of workplace ethics and personal responsibilities is an integral duty of any employee. When such duties are neglected then wide-ranged problems occur. It is also true that first impressions are always the last ones, most specifically in a workplace setting. Carl Robins’ case is an important example in this regard since he forgot these basic rules and ignored many significant requirements of his post. He is a six-month old recruiter in ABC Inc. and due to his extreme professional negligence, the company is facing several drastic problems, and the newly hired employees are not properly being trained as well. Through his ignorance, Robins has proved himself incapable for this post. This paper accumulates the key issues that are threatening the organization, provides useful suggestions and alternate solutions that might help Carl Robins and ABC Inc. in eliminating this challenging situation. Situation Background: Carl Robins was hired as a recruiter in ABC Inc. only six months back, and so far he has recruited 15 new employees who are supposed to work under the Operations' Supervisor Monica Carrolls. Carrolls has made him in-charge for the orientation so that the new trainees are formally welcomed and could start work from July. Robins has scheduled the orientation date on June 15, and has selected the training hall as the venue without double checking if it is available or not. On 15th May, Carrolls inquires Robins about the basic procedures needed to be fulfilled while recruiting new employees such as their training, orientation preparations, manual's distribution, policy booklets, medical inspection, and drug screening tests. Robins assure her confidently that he has taken care of eve rything, and preparations have already been instigated for the orientation. However, post the Memorial Day holidays, he realizes that the application process is still half remaining, new employees have not filled out their forms completely, and transcripts are also not present. Moreover, they are yet to undergo the compulsory physical and drugs’ screening test and professional training. Another painful discovery was that only three copies of the orientation manual are available, and many pages containing important information are missing from the files. To add more depth to his misery, he later learns that the room has also been booked by the technology services department, for the whole month to conduct seminars. This is a very disturbing situation for Robins, because time is running out, and he is ill-prepared. Main Problems and challenges There are several significant problems that can be analyzed from the situation for this case. First, pointing out of the most obvious is sues is important because there is not much time left and problems are too many. Currently, Robins needs to find a new venue for holding the orientation, and then organize it perfectly. He needs to make sure that the 15 employees complete their forms, and that transcripts are attached to their respective files. In addition, they must go through all the official requirements, including medical examination and drug's test and training before 15th June. Orientation manual also requires proper completion before the scheduled event.

Discuss the Implications of the Increaing Length of Annual Reports Essay

Discuss the Implications of the Increaing Length of Annual Reports - Essay Example In this regard, many independent and regulatory authorities have tried to protect the investors’ and shareholders’ interest from managements’ biases by taking major steps like corporate governance and accounting policies. Publication of annual reports is one the basic responsibilities. With tightening policies from regulatory authorities, the managements are required to disclose number of information other than financial statement. This paper will attempt to present the purposes and increasing length of annual report and its implications (Stittle, 2003, p.143). Purposes and Importance of Annual Report Annual report is primarily associated the disclosure of the financial report of a corporate which is important for the users like prospective investor, existing shareholders and creditor for making economical decisions. Financial information is highly required as it shows the financial health of the organisation like financial risk, stability, volatility, assets, li abilities etc (Valencia College, n.d.). However, merely disclosing the financial information does not serve the purposes for protecting shareholders’ interest by offering sufficient level of transparency. ... The annual report also discloses other necessary information which is highly required for ensuring the biased free information. For example, the company also discloses accounting policies, footnotes which act as empirical studies for the stakeholders. Form the companies’ perspective, annual reports are also used for market signalling by disclosing a number of voluntary news and recent developments. Moreover, the annual reports are prepared in the simplest way so that a person with basic knowledge of economics is able to understand the internal information and activities. The companies are obligated to ensure that each of its stakeholders is able to access the annual reports and hence, publicly listed companies are responsible for publishing its annual reports through corporate websites, economic journals and news papers, and subscriptions (Vause, 2009, p.9). Increasing Length of Annual Report and its Implications To make the annual reports more relevant with enhanced disclosur e has become a challenge for both the regulators and firms. On one hand, regulatory authorities require that the companies’ annual reports must be understood by ordinary shareholders and investors; on the other hand, they are required to include complete and transparent disclosures. The recent financial crisis of 2007-2010 has marked the importance of financial disclosures. The international and independent organisations like FRC, OECD, IASB and FASB require wide ranges of information as mandatory disclosure. The IFRS and US GAAP are two major financial reporting frameworks that recommend upon the accounting standards and disclosures in the annual report. Their requirements of disclosure have been constantly increased for better transparency and monitoring the activity of the

OC organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

OC organizations - Essay Example large black market for alcohol and created the opportunity for many groups considered at one time small times to rise in prominence in organized crime. The black market created from alcohol was easily filled by criminals. This reason alone was strong enough to repeal prohibition in 1933. As a public health policy historians argue that prohibition did reduce alcohol use and the associated harm (Hall, 2010, p 1165). Many dry states created economic power for wet states willing to transfer and sale across state lines which was a popular activity in organized crime. It was very common for organized crime organizations to be on regular shipment and supply schedules with establishments subject to prohibition. At that time, before 1930, there were no uniform National crime statistics and national prohibition and the illicit income it produced was a factor in widespread corruption of police and public officials (Hall, 2010, p1168). Disagreements over illegal alcohol shipments and delivery contributed to an increase in murder rates in large cities such as Chicago. States considered ‘wet’ attributed increases in Federal arrests to prohibition and it was more accurate to assume these arrests reflected crime rates rather than actual enforcement. Political mechanisms operated in the legitimate and less legitimates worlds of prohibition, racketeering, and vices which caused a loss of control in American politics, corrupt officials and organized crime groups took over these roles. Many political systems overlooked organized crime enabling them to stay in power using the often very influential support of the organized crime groups, eliminating opposition and more easily raising funds (Beare, 1997, p 157). It is these very reasons why the problem was not eliminated much more efficiently by either law enforcement or the United States government. Illegal narcotics trade was estimated to be the second largest industry in the world in 2007 (Swanstrom, 2007, p3). Transnational

Human Resources Management Reform in Chinese Banking

Human Resources Management Reform in Chinese Banking The Human Resources Management Reform in Chinese Banking A case of Bank of China Chapter 1: Introduction Challenge to Chinese Banking December 11, 2001, after 15 years of arduous negotiations, China officially access to the WTO. On the hundreds of pages of Chinas WTO accession Protocol, the financial services trade is the most important part of it and gets the most attractions from all sectors of the community. Since then, Chinas financial opening was provided to an external accelerator and timetable. The all-round opening up of Chinas financial industry era has begun. Until the end of 2005, 16 Chinese banks introduced foreign strategic investors and a total of 71 foreign banks from 20 countries and regions had set up 238 operational entities in China. Foreign banks enter the Chinese banking sector has always been the impact of the banking industry, academia and regulatory agencies pay close attention to the problem. Gains and risks on both sides of a coin, the Chinese foreign capital into the banking sector in the enjoyment of the proceeds must also face the attendant challenges. Compare to foreign banks, Chinas banking sector is still in a very traditional approach to management, backward technology, simple business method, single-species products and obsolete business concepts. In a long term, Chinese government takes bank as a very important part of the National Economic Sectors; therefore, four state-owned banks enjoy the monopoly state in China. Chinese government set a set of policies to protect the development of these banks. Now, Chinas accession to the WTO situation, the traditional banking sector faces a foreign financial industry developed into one of the great challenges. In that case, it is urgent need for them to present the financial industry for rapid reform and the development orientation should conform to the world development trend. In the face of the challenges of the circumstances, Chinas banking sector began one after another round of reforms, changes in business philosophy, business form and management form, and so on. 1.2 Aim of the Dissertation This paper through analysis the recruitment and selection situation and human resource reform in Bank of China is to explore the human resource reform experiences and the development of human resource management in Chinese banking and it also could be a good reference to the whole Chinese banks. The aim of the research is therefore to understand the challenges with foreign banks entry into China and the current development of human resource management situation in Chinese banking. Furthermore, the human resource reform in Bank of China invited an American consultancy company as the councilor. There is no doubt saying it would begin to practice more western human resource management methods to manage this traditional state-owned bank which in a long time is considered as in a conservative industry area in China. On one hand, these advanced western human resources concepts are introduced to China. they have to pursue their rules in line with the Chinese legislations and current situation. Therefore, related to the real situation and pool of candidates on Chinese banking to study the manipulation and transfer of recruitment and selection practices in Bank of China will help us come to further understand the development human resource management situation on Chinese Banking, especially the development of recruitment and selection field. From it we can know in what aspects the western recruitment and selection practices are more rational and scientific than Chinese local enterprises. On the other hand, these methods always implemented by foreign banks in their parent-country and now are transferred and practiced by a representative Chinese character banks. Obviously, it also could be a good reference and experience to foreign banks who want to enter into the Chinese market. In a word, this study seeks to fill the gap by evaluating the western recruitment and selection practices in China and provide a new perspective to Chinese local banks and foreign banks how to introduce these practices and manipulate them. Chapter 2: Literature Review Long Yongtu, Chinas point man on WTO negotiations, said, as the people, enterprises also need external pressure could push them ahead. If there no pressure comes from outside, Chinas enterprises is impossible to form. After Chinas accession to the WTO, the enterprises have to face a considerable external pressure and force them taking the path of internationalization and enhance their competitiveness. Unlike the overall economy, due to relatively weak foundation, the financial services industry will face more pressures, but in the medium and long term it will benefit more. According to Premier Zhu Rongji s words, there are pros and cons for financial opening to the outside world. If we can do a good job, the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages. The so-called do a good job, can not be limited to the impact of the simple response, but conversion mechanism, update the system and improving the competitiveness in a comprehensive way. 2.1 The Status Quo and Opening- Up Process of Chinese Banking From 1949 to the 1970s, Chinas banking sector under the planned economic system running, four state-owned commercial banks play the key role of specialized banks in Chinese banking sector. The late 1980s, the new commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions had set up. Some of the newly established commercial banks, now known as the other nationwide commercial banks, allowed providing nationwide commercial banking services, while some commercial banks only allowed operating in the local market. After Chinas accession to WTO, Chinese banking launched a comprehensive joint-stock reform and the successful listing. They through improve corporate governance, develop strategies, operate performance to reduce the ever-narrowing gap with the advanced international banks. Since 2003, four former state-owned commercial banks (Bank of China, Peoples Construction Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China) pattern no longer exists. The U.S. Gold man Sachs share the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Royal Bank of Scotland share Bank of China, and Bank of America also become the one shareholder of Peoples Construction Bank of China. At present the only state-owned Agricultural Bank of China whose shareholding system reform is now in progress. In future, there will be no state-owned commercial banks in China. Actually, as an important component part of Open-door policy, China has opened the door to foreign banks since 1979. At the end of September 2001, foreign banks operating in China, a total of nearly 190 institutions, of which 158 branches, corporate bodies 19, two branches 13. Foreign banks total assets reach 44 billion U.S. dollars, 18.6 billion U.S. dollars loans, deposits 6.5 billion U.S. dollars, capital (including working capital) 3 billion U.S. dollars. 31 foreign banks have been permitted to conduct RMB business, including 23 in Shanghai, 8 in Shenzhen, with total assets of RMB 41 billion Yuan. In market share, foreign banks were up to 20% and 30% in foreign exchange loans and international settlement business areas. The speed of Chinese banking sector opening up, from a global perspective, still is a faster as well. Although many developed countries has joined the WTO and signed the terms of trade in services, they still not yet open up the domestic currency business to forei gn banks and the implementation of geographical restrictions. According to Chinas WTO accession protocol, in the financial services industry, the banking sector is completely open commitment: (1) Prudent business of issuing permits. It means there are not economic needs tests or quantitative restrictions in the business license. After Chinas accession to WTO 5 years later, they should abolish all the existing ownership, management, foreign financial institutions and enterprises to establish branches of the non-permission of prudent measures. That is, when foreign banks apply for the establishment of branches, the Peoples Bank of China in addition to carefully follow the standards can not set other restrictions. Foreign banks set up business outlets in the city, with the approval conditions of Chinese domestic bank. (2) The timely opening of foreign exchange business. Chinas accession to the WTO, foreign financial institutions will be fully liberalized to foreign exchange business and the abolition geographical and customer restrictions. In other words, once accession to the WTO, China will allow foreign banks to all customers (including Chinese-funded enterprises and Chinese residents) operating all foreign exchange operations (including the companys business and retail business). (3) The phased opening of RMB business. For foreign banks RMB business in China will grant to open 20 cities in four years. Five years later, they will abolish all geographical restrictions for foreign banks. In the service targets, two years after accession, foreign banks would be allow to handle RMB business with enterprises in 12 cities of China. After five years accession, foreign banks would be allowed to provide services for customers in all China. (4) Financial advisory business categories timely open. Since the date of accession to the WTO, foreign institutions can be obtained the right to engage in related business deposits and loans, financial leasing, pay for all the designated services, security and acceptance, the company mergers and acquisitions, securities investment advisory, brokerage and other ancillary services in China. That is to say, joining the WTO 5 years later, there are no differences in service area and service object between Chinese domestic financial institutions and foreign financial institutions. Chinese government made an important commitment to realize trade liberalization, opening up the domestic market and in accordance with international practices which go beyond the general peoples expectations. 2.2 Human Resource Management in Foreign Banks As an increasing number of foreign banks enter the Chinese market, the content and the extent of competition crossing international borders has surged dramatically to Chinese banking. The competitive advantages of foreign banks mainly reflected in: financial advantages, institutional advantages, the network edge, technological advantages, innovative advantages and business strengths. Foreign banks expand their business in China, the biggest obstacle for them it is not familiar with the local situation, and therefore, the only way to take the short cut is to achieve the management of localization, because of their well-known local business, market information, public relations, skills of the management of state-owned commercial banks, and the most pressing needs of local people. Thus, human resource management inevitably becomes one of the most important fields of this competition. Especially, accompanied by the increase of foreign banks, they need to recruit more and more qualified m embers from local labour market. In China, owing to these foreign banks competitive salary, systematic career planning, good work condition, and oversea work opportunity .etc; their recruitment always attracts many most excellent peoples attentions. It is, thus, imperative for Chinese banks to attract, select, develop and retain best employees who can live and work effectively in this international competitive circumstance. However, Chinas historical development, political structure and culture influence its business philosophy and management way. Therefore, some standardized recruitment and selection methods developed in western have to be modified according to Chinese situation. They need more reform experiences and practical opportunity. In that case, the study of recruitment and selection practices of Chinese banking, actually, illustrates how to implemented western advanced practices under conditions of high cultural and institutional distance country. Human resource management is a systematic management relevant to recruitment and selection, training and development, performance, and rewards. All of these areas are mutual influence, interrelation and thus constitute a complete set of human resources management system. Human resources reform is in this interaction, and mutual contact conducted, thereby improving overall organizational performance, enhancing the effective and efficient of all the organization. Therefore, although this paper more concentrates on recruitment and selection area, it still will contain other areas of human resource management reform content in many places. Chapter 3: Methodology and Research Design 3.1 Research Questions Chapter 4: Case Study and Discussion 4.1 Introduction Bank of China, as one of the four state-owned commercial banks, like the other Chinese state-owned enterprises, it also constrained by its obsolete institutions and management in a long time. However, on the list of The Ideal Employer for Chinese Graduates released by Swedish Universum Communications specialized in employer brand management, Bank of China always looms over the whole list in recently years. In 2005, surpassing such transnational banks as CitiBank, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, it tops all financial enterprises. What makes the Bank of China be able to compete successfully with these foreign banks? What is the Bank of China to surpass those of foreign banks preferential treatment salaries and oversea opportunities and finally to choose it? As the major part of the stock holding system reform, the reform of human resource management in Bank of China is a most profound, most complex and most arduous one. Early in 2003, Bank of China had invited famous American consultancy company as the councilor of human resource reform. Combining with the banks actual situation and local experiences, they had worked out human resource reform program and practice scheme after repeated argumentations and revisions. In August 2004, human resource reform at the head office level was carried out. At the end of 2004, pilot reforms were conducted in its two branches in Jiangsu Province and Sichuan Province respectively. In 2005, human resource reform was implemented throughout its system in a full scale. The human resource reform in Bank of China is so spectacular that it is indeed quotable for other domestic banks. This chapter will concentrate on the analysis of interview and documents findings in order to explore the recruitment and selection situation in Chinese banking sector as well as the development of relevant human resource management policy in Chinese banking. The other concern of this research is to compare the gap and the differences of human resource management practices between Chinese banks and foreign banks. Interviewees were selected from all levels of the hierarchy and different banks of various ownerships in order to acquire more reliable primary data and more varied opinions within the Chinese banking. 4.2 Background to Bank of China Bank of China is one of Chinas four state-owned commercial banks. Its businesses cover commercial banking, investment banking and insurance. Members of the group include BOC Hong Kong, BOC International, BOCG Insurance and other financial institutions. The Bank provides a comprehensive range of high-quality financial services to individual and corporate customers as well as financial institutions worldwide. In terms of tier one capital, it ranked 18th among the worlds top 1,000 banks by The Banker magazine in 2005. Over the past century, Bank of China played an important role in Chinas financial history. It was established in February 1912 and is Chinas most long-standing history of the bank. During 1912 to 1949, the functions of the Bank of China have changed three times. From 1912 to 1928, Bank of China was the central bank of that time. In 1928 it was changed to the concessionaire of the international exchange bank. In 1942, Bank of China became the professional development of international trade banks. As the pillar of the countrys financial industry, Bank of China was committed to serving the public and developing the domestic financial sector. During these volatile years, the Bank strived to expand its presence in the market by prudent operation and aggressive reform, leading the market in many areas of its operations for a long period. Having branched out into overseas market, the Bank opened a brilliant chapter in Chinas modern and contemporary banking history. 1949 founding of the PRC, the new Chinese government took over the Bank of China and in December the same year the headquarters of the Bank of China moved to Beijing from Shanghai. Bank of China in 1950 under the management of the Peoples Bank of China head office leadership. October 27, 1953 the Central Peoples Government Cabinet announced the statute of Bank of China and specifically endowed the Bank of China as the Peoples Republic of China Cabinet Chartered Banks foreign exchange professional. From then on, Bank of China became the state-designated specialized foreign exchange bank and substantially contributed to development of foreign trade and the national economy. In 1994 and following the entrenchment of the reform of the financial sector, Bank of China was converted from a state-owned specialized bank into a wholly state-owned commercial bank. Together with the other three wholly state-owned commercial banks, it constituted pillars of the countrys financial industry. As a Chinese financial institution with a history of almost a hundred years, the Bank is well known for its continuous business innovations, introducing many brand new products and services in the domestic banking industry. It is widely recognized and commended by its peers and customers in international settlement, foreign exchange, trade finance, etc. In 2003, it was named by the State Council as one of the pilot banks for joint-stock reform of wholly state-owned commercial banks. In order to develop itself into an internationally competitive modern joint-stock commercial bank, with the capital adequacy, strict internal control, safe operations, good service and efficiency, building international competitiveness of the modern joint-stock commercial banks objectives, Bank of China further improved the corporate governance mechanism, strengthened risk management and internal control system, integrated management Processes and business processes, promoted human resources management re form, speed up product innovation and service innovation, and steadily push forward joint-stock transformation. In 2004, the Bank of China from state-owned commercial banks overall restructuring for the state-controlled joint-stock commercial banks, known as the Bank of China Limited. In 2005, Bank of China introduces the Royal Bank of Scotland and Temasek, and other strategic investors. In October 2005, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC announced a $3.1 billion investment which would give the British bank control of just under 10 percent stake in the Bank of China. Further investments were made by Swiss bank UBS AG, and by Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd, who also promised to subscribe for an additional $500 million worth of shares during Bank of Chinas initial public offering. In 2006, the Bank of China listed on June 1 in the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It was the largest IPO in the world since 2000, and the fourth largest IPO in the world ever, raising some US$9.7 billi on in the H-share Global Offering. The Over-Allotment Option was then exercised on June 7, 2006, raising the total value of their IPO to US$11.2 billion. In July 5, it listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It successfully made the largest IPO in mainland China on July 5, 2006, by offering up to 10 billion A-shares on the Shanghai A Stock Exchange, or up to RMB20 billion. These were priced at RMB3.00 per share. In 2007, the Bank of China and Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) cooperated to the public private banking business of Bank of China. All of these reform and incorporation make it turn a new chapter in its history and signal a huge step forward in becoming a modern joint stock commercial bank with good corporate governance practices. Furthermore, Bank of China is the most internationalized commercial bank in China. BOC London Branch, the first overseas branch of the Chinese banks, was established in 1929. From then on, the Bank successively opened branches in global financial centers, and has built up its network in 27 countries and regions. Currently, it had over 10000 domestic operations and over 600 overseas operations. In 1994 and 1995, Bank of China became the note issuing bank in Hong Kong and Macao respectively. It was the first among Chinese banks to recruit international experts and to introduce modern business management concepts into its operations with a view to become a premiere international bank. It has received wide recognition from its peers, customers and authoritative media for the credit and performance it achieved in past years. It has been awarded Best Bank in China and Best Domestic Bank in China by Euromoney for eight times; it has been included in the Fortune Global 500 for 16 consecutive years; in addition, it was awarded Best Domestic Bank in China by The Asset, awarded Best Trade Finance Bank in China and Best Foreign Exchange Bank in China by Global Finance, and awarded the Top 10 Product Service Enterprises in China by Far Eastern Economic Review; since BOC Hong Kong was restructured and listed in the Hong Kong stock market, it has been the winner of many significant awards, including Best IPO Investor Relation Award issued by the Investor Relations Magazine and Best Transactions and Best Privatization Award issued by Asian Finance. 4.3 The Challenges and Problems There are gains and risks on both sides of a coin. Chinas banking sector in the enjoyment of foreign capital into the revenue, it must also face the attendant challenges from it. The author is known as its challenge rather than risk or defects, because these challenges from the competitions of foreign banks is an integral part of the main power of Chinese banks reform. The only choice is to take the initiative to actively fight. For a long time solely state-owned banks have absolute monopoly position in China, although such a monopoly can get benefits from its scale. However, its survival and development is formed under the planned economy of monopoly and depend on policy and the protection of the state, which resulted in Chinas financial markets both single and thin. Chinas banking industry, especially the four major state-owned commercial banks, has long been regarded as a government-driven development of the countrys economic engine. They had to implement of considerable mandate of government policies, including investment loans, interest-free and low-interest loans, veterans resettlement and local governments intervention. Someone describe the state-owned banks as a dinosaur, because the death of dinosaur is too much energy consumption and too slow response. When the enemy bites the tail of the dinosaur, it will need five minutes to convey this message to the brain, and then five minutes time to make a c ounterattack. If Chinese banks do not get rid burden, in the face of the competition of foreign banks, it is bound in a passive position. According to the statistics, to the end of 2001, the four major banks have over 100 million employees and per capita profit is only 16,700 yuan, while foreign-invested banks in the number though much less, but in the same period the per capita profits 270,300 yuan which is 16 times of state-owned banks. Now, the banks historical burden was getting heavier and heavier. Access to foreign banks, the existence of such a burden, Chinas banks would lose the conditions for equal competition, in a very disadvantaged position. Lack of flexibility of their personnel system and institutional setup is extremely unreasonable. Like other state-owned enterprises, Bank of China also constrained by its rigid personnel system. Because ownership is not clear, the banks policy-makers and operators are the same members. The lack of the necessary internal control mechanisms resulted in lower levels of management, lax management. Their assessment is not operated on actual performance-based, but in line with the government officials ranks, that is, the higher your position are and the better your assessment result can get. Furthermore, they designed banks job description and ranks according to the State Civil Service series. On the other hand, banks at all levels in the institutions set up on the still-led administration and management level was complexity. Compared to western commercial banks focus on customer relationship management, such pyramid-like and multi-level administrative management had proved their effects v ary widely. Specific to the area of human resources management, mainly concentrated in the areas ¼Ã… ¡ First is the traditional orientation of Human resources Management Department. The traditional orientation of Human Resources Management Department of Bank of China is only a personnel department. The majority of works remain in the management people and other affairs and it mainly reflected in attendance, personnel file management, pay and benefits, and some other traditional work. The foreign banks have taken Human Resources departments in a clear strategic position which take on the major functions of personnel training and development and as the important guarantee of banks core competitiveness. The main reasons of this difference lies in the banks human resources is not the end results of competition in the market and personnel training, lack of market concepts, leading to large-scale and very difficult to promote change. Second is the difference in personnel recruitment and deployment of standards and evaluation of the value. In a long term, Bank of China takes the management responsibility of foreign currency exchange. It is a commercial bank and also is a part of government. In that case, it shows strong administration tendency. One of main representations is the recruitment and deployment is under the unified management and distribution of its head office or regional branchs human resources management department. The actual needs are poorly understood and valued more than diploma and the past experiences. However, foreign banks have their own recruitment of competent model for quality standards, according to the requirements of jobs analysis on-demand recruitment. They focus on candidates practical work capability and potential, more concerned whether candidates match with the organisation. There are survey shows that foreign banks in the recruitment process always use talent measurement tools and pay much attention to staffs personalities, especially the values of the match with organizations. Third is the difference in the understanding strategic significance of training. Although Bank of China has its own training base and develop training programme, it was taken as the main function forms sticking to the training books and classroom teaching model and following the what is lacking and what will teach in school practice. It only focused on the surface of the master work skills and ignored the staff own development and value-added value. The quality of the staff can not be matched with market demand. The former president of Chase Manhattan once said, Only by allowing banks to advance the personnel development to the business development, can more quickly adapt to the international financial markets and to develop. Under the guidance of such concept, during the training of the current work, these foreign banks also pay more attention to the quality of staff training and development potential. With each individual staffs situation, training program also need be intent tail ored and help them achieve career goals. In training, teaching experiments, simulations, the network learning, and other new educational methods are widely used. The difference over the foreign banks will be mainly due to the attitude to the people, that is, foreign banks take talents as a strategic and scarcity of resources and the ongoing effective staff training and development of competition in the international banking is an important component of the strategy and also is one of the most important strategic investment. Take Citigroup as an example, it establishes a special institution and equipped with full-time staff with responsibility for training. According to different posts and the personal characteristic of staff, they develop detailed training programme and take the appropriate incentive measures to promote and guarantee staff training. Citibanks Shanghai branch, the per capita cost of training is more than 17,000 yuan and in the Bank of China, the training costs of Sha nghai Branch per capita is less than 500 yuan. The main reason of this situation is they still take training as a cost Spending. On training and curriculum design is very arbitrary and even that on several occasions Dangke can also replace part of the training target. Fourth is the difference in performance management and performance assessment. Performance Evaluation is the core of modern human resources management issue. It not only provides important information basis for the distribution and selection of personnel, but also is considered as a strong incentive for the staff (Michael, 2008). State-owned commercial banks as a financial enterprise, its operating profit maximization is their goal, thus human resources management should be subordinated to and serves this business objective. However, the state-owned commercial banks have not established a systematic, scientific and reasonable performance appraisal system. First, there are not distinguish between the different categories of staff posts in the evaluation, but they adopted the moral character, ability, diligence, achievements, these relatively abstract and difficult to quantify the indicators to evaluate. Even, they had not yet been standard analysis of jobs. It presents in there are no standard title to regulate all types of positions and no uniform standard job descriptions, so that the staff responsibilities of different positions is very fuzzy; Third, the evaluation index system in the absence of key performance indicators (KPI indicators), in particular, guard against and defuse financial risks has not yet fully reflected in the evaluation of specific indicators in the evaluation. In addition, the performance evaluation of the results did not become the direct indicator of employees pay and rewards, job changes and incentives. Performance evaluation is often a mere formality and away from the commercial banks operating objectives. As one of the state-owned Banks, Bank of China also got into this trap in a long time. They thought performance management is the regular staff evaluation that the bonuses were paid to staff and provide the basic references for promotion, that is, simply equate performance management with performance evaluation. Generally, appraisal objective was set by the bank unilaterally and the staffs can only passively accept. Therefore, it often for the evaluation and assessment ignored the real purpose of the examination, that is, raise the level of individual performance of staff. In addition, the unscientific assessment standards and methods and the ineffective implementation of the results of the evaluation made the performance appraisal could not play their due role. The cause of the gap is also the main reason for the management of Chinese banks, the strong bureaucracy and lack of the necessary lines of communication between management and staff. In the course of investigation, the author also learn that in three years ago, in one county branch of Bank of China, subsidiary manager of this branch submitted his resignation after this

Jewish persecution :: essays research papers

Jewish Persecution The Jewish Persecution began during 1933. The Jews were faced with the terrorist group called the National Socialist German Workers party (Nazi) hate this happened when Hitler came into power. He devised labor camps where he would send individuals who opposed his ideas, and Jews. The conditions in these camps were so bad that it is hard to describe them. The prisoners were treated very badly. In this time, the Nazi government continued to deprive Jews of their rights and possessions. In 1938 Jewish homes and schools are looted or destroyed. Jews could not sit on park benches or swim in public pools. The government seized Jewish businesses as well as personal property. Jews were beaten, more than 90 are killed, and 30,000 Jewish people were sent to concentration camps. They beat Jews in the streets and attacked them in their homes. Jews had to sell their businesses and other property to the government at unnaturally low prices. The night became known as Kristallnacht, a German word meaning Crystal Night. In 1939, 300,000 Jews had been eliminated from the German community. Millions more Jews came under German control. Jews in Poland are forced to wear a yellow Star of David on their chests or a blue-and-white Star of David armband. By the end of the war, the Nazis had killed about 6 million Jewish men, women, and children that’s more than two-thirds of the Jews in Europe. Many of the Holocaust victims were killed in specially constructed gas chambers, and their bodies were then burned. The Nazis also moved many Jews from towns and villages into city ghettos. During 1942-1943 German government officials discuss the "Final Solution," their plan to kill all Jews in Europe. This policy called for the murder of every Jewish man, woman, and child under German rule. Jews are deported from Nazi-occupied countries throughout Europe to ghettos, concentration camps and killing centers in Poland. In the early 1940's, several new camps were established, with specially constructed gas chambers disguised as showers. The Nazis herded the Jews into railroad freight cars to be taken to the camps. As many as 2,000 prisoners were sent into the gas chambers at one time. The guards shaved the heads of the corpses and removed any gold teeth from their mouths. Then they burned the bodies in crematoriums or open pits. The well prisoners had their heads shaved and

The Nike shoe company

AS known to all, international relations between commercial organizations is one of today’s strongest trends in business industries. The truth is that every single organization, whether small or large scale, is considerably involved in reaching the goal of being globally known through international trade. Just what is meant by the terms international trade, international relations, and international strategy; and how are they particularly related to each other?   These questions shall be given answer through the discussion that follows through. Business entrepreneurs around the world all have a common goal, to influence a larger scale of market who would appreciate their products and services thus giving them the opportunity of increasing their revenues and strengthening their chances of increasing their profitable gains as well. This is the primary reason why it is an essential for entrepreneurs of the present-day business organizations to discuss to their employees the different aspects of international relations that particularly affects the major operations of the business that equips it with the necessary strength that it needs for further organizational growth in the future. The possibilities of both increasing the competence of the business in the field and making the aims of progress more efficient in becoming factual and practical for the organization to take. This is perfectly the same with the situational goals of Nike with regards their global relations. THE Company: A Brief Description Nike Shoe Company, Nike inclusive is a company that basically indulges in the designing, developing and international marketing of quality apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessory products. The company started trading actively in sportswear back in the year 1999. The footwear is precisely designed and manufactured for athletic use. A large portion of Nike's products is however used for leisure and casual purposes. Nike inclusive operates it own subsidiaries for manufacturing and the distribution of sports apparel. The main competitors of this company are Adidas, Reebok among others. Describe the market structure within which the company operates and the pricing strategies adopted by the company Nike operate in a very competitive field of business. For some reasons, the said industry of sport shoe production and distribution has already weakened through the years of operation. For this reason, companies hosting the said situation actually tried to access different procedures of marketing their products and their services to the society. The seasoned process of the appreciation that consumers have towards the said products actually makes it possible for the production activities of the said materials to fluctuate. (Porter 1985) The selling price adopted by a company for its products directly affects the profitability and eventually the viability of the company. This area usually receives a lot of attention from Nike's management. To ensure the viability of the company products in the market and rise above its competitors, Nike uses the following pricing strategies, (Thompson, and Strickland, 2001). Setting rather than managing prices; The brand manager adopts a reactive approach in making pricing decisions rather than a proactive approach. This means that the setting of prices at Nike inclusive depends on the prices adopted by competitors and the sales figures that Nike has. Avoidance of customer value when pricing; It is not always accurate to predict the value that a customer has towards a given product. It is also not possible to quantify the value that the products give to customers. For this reason, Nike avoids the use of customer value when making pricing decisions. Although consumers may not buy a product whose price is higher than the satisfaction derived from the product , they will at all times purchase a product that has a price lower than its perceived satisfaction. By avoiding this approach, Nike keeps off under pricing its products in order to maintain the brand equity and customer loyalty, (Porter, 1985). Establishing customer value for products; the brand managers at Nike inclusive rigorously engage in attempts to know the value that customers have for their brands. This is undertaken by carrying out detailed interviews with the customers on Nike's brands. Through this process, the organization is able to comprehend better with the needs and the demands of the people, their clients, who are the primary target of the changes that the organization particularly want to work on. The precise information obtained is used by brand managers to establish a basis for the pricing decisions in the company. Such information is reliable in developing an effective pricing strategy that is proactive. (McGahan, 2004). The changing Global Economy Nike is keen on the changing global economy and has been seeking competitive advantage over its rivals. Several changes have taken place in the shoe industry and this has been greatly beneficial to the industry. These changes are; (Hunger, and Wheelen, 2003). Rapid growth in footwear production Manufacturers today must have flexible designs and high output. There is a massive increase in shoe designs increasing competition and volatility in the market. High innovation and quality designs are a must for success. . Producers have to be protective of their information and manufacturing technology. One of the main reasons for the success in seeking competitive advantage in the changing global economy is flexibility. Nike has at all times remained flexible in the changing market by subcontracting to international countries that have low cost of labor. Secondly, Nike highly focuses on differentiating of its products. Rather than dealing in one line of a product, the company has diversified and differentiated the products it offers to the market. For instance, Nike began as small company that distributes sport shoes, however, as time passed, the developments began to grow thus giving the company a better reputation in the industry. Today, Nike is known in the industry as it produces and sells a variety of products ranging from equipment, clothing all the way to even offering accessories. This differentiation has enabled Nike to successfully obtain and gain loyalty from buyers on its brand. Certainly, register an increase in sales command a fine price for all the company products. Conclusion From the SWOT analysis featured within this paper, the different elements needed to be considered by Nike to face the global business competition has been carefully presented (Bakan, 2004, 66). From the said assessments, it could be observed that there is huge attention needed to be placed on the situation of the organization when it comes to cost alignment of both expenses as a balancing matter with that of the revenues gained by the company in an annual procedure. (Egan, 1998, 11) Aside from financing, the process of marketing and product shifting should also be given clear attention as it also gives a fine description and certainty with regards the situation that the organization would likely face within the global picture of the international trade. The issue of globalization offers both threats and the opportunities to the current human generation. Undeniably, the said progression of industrialization that affects the entire global operations of the trading industries bring an impact on how local business organizations work towards the dreams and goals that they have particularly set for themselves to reach (Goldman, 1999, 10). The consequences through in being involved in the said revolution of business systems in the society today involves the adjustments that organizations must take risk of to be able to jump into the bandwagon of international progress. True, international business industries offer a larger market. The involvement of Internet and modern communication applications today within the systems of business connections worldwide has even made the said international commercial invasion a faster process of progress for entrepreneurial beginners in the said field. Understandably, to be able to gain progress, the risks and the opportunities should be grabbed by each individual business organization for the sake of part taking in the process of globalization of industries today. References Joel Bakan (2004). The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. London: Constable. Egan, Timothy.(1998). â€Å"The swoon of the swoosh†. New York Times Magazine. J. B. Strasser. (2003). Swoosh: Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There, The (Paperback). Collins Publishers. Robert Goldman. (1999). Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh (Cultural Icons series). Sage Publications. Grant, R.M. (2005) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford (U.K.) Hunger, J. and Wheelen, T (2003) Essentials of Strategic Management. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. McGahan, A. (2004) How Industries Evolve – Principles for Achieving and Sustaining Superior Performance. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Porter, M.E. (1985) Competitive Advantage. The Free Press: New York. Thompson, A. and Strickland, J (2001) Crafting and Implementing Strategy. Irwin McGraw-Hill.

The Moche Culture, Guide to the History and Archaeology

The Moche Culture, Guide to the History and Archaeology The Moche culture (ca. AD 100-750) was a South American society, with cities, temples, canals, and farmsteads located along the arid coast in a narrow strip between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains of Peru. The Moche or Mochica are perhaps best known for their ceramic art: their pots include life-sized portrait heads of individuals and three-dimensional representations of animals and people. Many of these pots, looted long ago from Moche sites, can be found in museums throughout the world: not much more about the context from where they were stolen is known. Moche art is also reflected in polychrome and/or three-dimensional murals made of plastered clay on their public buildings, some of which are open to visitors. These murals depict a wide range of figures and themes, including warriors and their prisoners, priests and supernatural beings. Studied in detail, the murals and decorated ceramics reveal much about the ritual behaviors of the Moche, such as the Warrior Narrative. Moche Chronology Scholars have come to recognize two autonomous geographic regions for the Moche, separated by the Paijan desert in Peru. They had separate rulers  with the capital of the Northern Moche at Sipn, and that of the Southern Moche at the Huacas de Moche. The two regions have slightly different chronologies and have some variations in material culture. Early Intermediate (AD 100-550) North: Early and Middle Moche; South: Moche Phase I-IIIMiddle Horizon (AD 550-950) N: Late Moche A, B, and C; S: Moche Phase IV-V, Pre-Chimu or CasmaLate Intermediate (AD 950-1200) N: Sican; S: Chimu Moche Politics and Economy The Moche were a stratified society with a powerful elite and an elaborate, well-codified ritual process. The political economy was based on the presence of large civic-ceremonial centers that produced a wide range of goods which were marketed to rural agrarian villages. The villages, in turn, supported the city centers by producing a wide range of cultivated crops. Prestige goods created in the urban centers were distributed to rural leaders to support their power and control over those parts of society. During the Middle Moche period (ca AD 300-400), the Moche polity was split into two autonomous spheres divided by the Paijan Desert. The Northern Moche capital was at Sipan; the southern at the Huacas de Moche, where the Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol are the anchor pyramids. The ability to control water, particularly in the face of droughts and extreme rainfall and flooding resulting from the El Nià ±o Southern Oscillation drove much of the Moche economics and political strategies. The Moche built an extensive network of canals to increase agricultural productivity in their regions. Corn, beans, squash, avocado, guavas, chili peppers, and beans were grown by the Moche people; they domesticated llamas, guinea pigs, and ducks. They also fished and hunted plants and animals in the region, and traded lapis lazuli and spondylus shell objects from long distances. The Moche were expert weavers, and metallurgists used lost wax casting and cold hammering techniques to work gold, silver, and copper. While the Moche did not leave a written record (they may have used the quipu recording technique that we have yet to decipher), the Moche ritual contexts and their daily lives are known because of excavations and detailed study of their ceramic, sculptural and mural art. Moche Architecture In addition to the canals and aqueducts, architectural elements of Moche society included large monumental pyramid-shaped architecture called huacas  which were apparently partly temples, palaces, administrative centers, and ritual meeting places. The huacas were large platform mounds, built of thousands of adobe bricks, and some of them towered hundreds of feet above the valley floor. On top of the tallest platforms were large patios, rooms and corridors, and a high bench for the seat of the ruler. Most of the Moche centers had two huacas, one larger than the other. Between the two huacas could be found the Moche cities, including cemeteries, residential compounds, storage facilities and craft workshops. Some planning of the centers is evident, since the layout of the Moche centers are very similar, and organized along streets. Ordinary people at Moche sites lived in rectangular adobe-brick compounds, where several families resided. Within the compounds were rooms used for living and sleeping, craft workshops, and storage facilities. Houses at Moche sites are generally made of well-standardized adobe brick. Some case of shaped stone foundations are known in hill slope locations: these shaped stone structures  may be of higher status individuals, although more work needs to be completed. Moche Burials A wide range of burial types are evidenced in Moche society, roughly based on the social rank of the deceased.  Several elite burials  have been found at  Moche sites, such as  Sipn, San Josà © de Moro, Dos Cabezas, La Mina and Ucupe in the Zana Valley. These elaborate burials include a considerable quantity of grave goods  and are often highly stylized. Often copper artifacts are found in the mouth, hands and under the feet of the interred individual. Generally, the corpse was prepared and placed in a coffin made of canes. The body is buried lying on its back in a fully-extended position, head to the south, upper limbs extended. Burial chambers range from an underground room made of adobe brick, a simple pit burial or a boot tomb.  Grave goods  are always present, including personal artifacts. Other mortuary practices include delayed burials, grave reopenings and secondary offerings of human remains. Moche Violence Evidence that violence was a significant part of Moche society was first identified in ceramic and mural art. Images of warriors in battle, ​decapitations, and sacrifices were originally believed to have been ritual enactments, at least in part, but recent archaeological investigations have revealed that some of the scenes were realistic portrayals of events in Moche society. In particular, bodies of victims have been found at  Huaca de la Luna, some of which were dismembered or decapitated and some were clearly sacrificed during episodes of torrential rains. Genetic data support the identification of these individuals as enemy combatants. History of Moche Archaeology The Moche were first recognized as a distinct cultural phenomenon by archaeologist  Max Uhle, who studied the site of Moche in the early decades of the 20th century. The  Moche civilization  is also associated with Rafael Larco Hoyle, the father of  Moche archaeology who proposed the first relative chronology based on ceramics. Sources A photo essay on the  recent excavations at Sipan  has been constructed, which includes some detail concerning the ritual sacrifices and burials undertaken by the Moche. Chapdelaine, Claude. Recent Advances in Moche Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Research, Volume 19, Issue 2, SpringerLink, June 2011. Donnan CB. 2010. Moche State Religion: A Unifying Force in Moche Political Organization. In: Quilter J, and Castillo LJ, editors.  New Perspectives on Moche Political Organization. Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks. p 47-49. Donnan CB. 2004.  Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru. University of Texas Press: Austin. Huchet JB, and Greenberg B. 2010.  Flies, Mochicas and burial practices: a case study from Huaca de la Luna, Peru.  Journal of Archaeological Science  37(11):2846-2856. Jackson MA. 2004. The Chimà º Sculptures of Huacas Tacaynamo and El Dragon, Moche Valley, Peru.  Latin American Antiquity  15(3):298-322. Sutter RC, and Cortez RJ. 2005. The Nature of Moche Human Sacrifice: A Bio-Archaeological Perspective.  Current Anthropology  46(4):521-550. Sutter RC, and Verano JW. 2007.  Biodistance analysis of the Moche sacrificial victims from Huaca de la Luna plaza 3C: Matrix method test of their origins.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology  132(2):193-206. Swenson E. 2011.  Stagecraft and the Politics of Spectacle in Ancient Peru.  Cambridge Archaeological Journal  21(02):283-313. Weismantel M. 2004. Moche sex pots: Reproduction and temporality in ancient South America.  American Anthropologist  106(3):495-505.

Choosing Your TEEN-BASED Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Choosing Your TEEN-BASED Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Choosing Your TEEN-BASED Business WORKSHEET Exploring your business possibilities Instructions: In the table provided below, select three businesses that appeal to you. Rank your selections in order of your interest level in starting and running that type of business. Use a ranking of 1, 2, or 3, where 1 is your favorite and 3 is your least favorite. Type the rankings in the column labeled "Rank." Note: You are not limited to selecting only from the list of suggested businesses. If you are interested in starting businesses not listed, type them in the spaces labeled "Other." Business Option Rank Landscaping Mobile Car Wash/Car Detailing Bicycle Repair Child Care Pet Grooming Pet Care (sitting/walking) Arts Crafts 1 Pet Treats Gutter Cleaning Service CD Replication Food Preparation/Cooking General Cleaning Service Desktop Publishing PC Tutoring Academic Tutoring House Painting Freelance Writer Artist 2 Photographer 3 Music Instructor Hairstyling Other: Other: Other: 2.Assessing Your Skills Instructions: Based on the three businesses you are considering starting, list the skills that you believe are required to successfully operate each type of business in the table provided below. In the first column, key the type of business, in the second column, key the skills required to operate the business, in the third column, key an "X" next to the skills you believe you already possess. Choice #1 Skills Required Possess? Arts and Crafts. Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively. Yes Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. Yes Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work Not Really Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. Yes Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. Yes Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models. Yes Choice #2 Skills Required Possess? Artist Perspective: What is it : The art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. Yes Proportions: The comparative relation of size between all the object in your scene. 50-50 Anatomy: Draw things that look believable ,humans, animals, plants but also vehicles, etc. Yes Composition: The placement or arrangement of the visual elements.Serve the artwork to the viewer eyes in a pleasing or expressive way. Yes Lighting: Lightness or darkness expressed with values of colors. Yes Choice #3 Skills Required Possess? Photographer Be creative, with a good eye for a picture. Yes Be reliable and able to meet deadlines. Yes Be motivated and determined. Yes Have excellent technical and photographic skills Yes Have computer skills, especially with computer programs such as Photoshop. 50-50 Have good communication skills. A little bit 3.Required Equipment Instructions: In the table provided below, list the equipment that is required to successfully operate each of the three businesses that you are considering starting. In the first column, key the type of business, in the second column, key the equipment required to operate the business, and in the third column, key an "X" next to the equipment you already own or have access to. Choice #1 Equipment Required Own? Choice #2 Equipment Required Own? Choice #3 Equipment Required Own? 4.SELECTING A BUSINESS PROFITABILITY Of your three potential businesses, which one do you believe would be most profitable and why? Type your response in the space provided below. 5.SELECTING BUSINESS TO START Based on your analysis of your interests, skills, equipment, and profit potential, which business have you chosen to start? Explain why you have chosen this particular business. Type your response in the space provided below.

Research professional associations specific to your career field or Assignment

Research professional associations specific to your career field or industry - Assignment Example For the nearly two and a half years I have been associated to this group, we have been meeting 2-3 times a month mostly on Saturdays. Every meeting has a structured format, which also runs between 3-3 hours, with a number of members taking part in the diverse roles, in the meetings. We are normally 39 members at our club. Membership is open to every individual above the age of 18 and hoping to enhance their leadership and communications skills. This organization has helped me a lot enhance my veterinary technician career. I learned through the organization that people who have better communication skills stand a good chance of getting better jobs compared to people who have the required academic qualifications, but poor communication skills. My days at this organization have greatly shaped my communication skills. At least I can stand in front of a group of people and offer a clear presentation and they understand. Two years back this was merely impossible. We are located in California State, Rancho Santa Margarita, and you can reach us at 1-646-558-5908. You can also visit our website @

Sexual development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexual development - Essay Example Teen pregnancy is associated with the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, low-birth weight children, and in addition also affects the studies and subsequent career of teenagers. Abstinence from sex has been a very popular and widely recommended method with nearly 90% of parents in support of such programs (Teen Pregnancy Statistics; Rector and Johnson). Studies have shown that abstinence from sex has resulted in a lesser rate of school drop-outs and increased graduation rates from college. This has been attributed to increased impulse control and focus exhibited by the teenagers on their future life by acting in a planned manner and controlling their emotions and sexual desires. In addition such teenagers also posses delay of gratification by which they are able to set aside immediate pleasures in order for them to work for the future and earn better rewards. They also develop the ability to resist peer pressure in matters concerning sexual activity and become more focused on thei r academic and personal development. They are also able to exhibit better frustration tolerance and also program their adolescent minds to concentrate on the better opportunities in life rather than arousing sexual fantasies.