Information Technology as an Element of Competitive Advantage Essay

Information Technology as an Element of Competitive Advantage - Essay Example Logistics management is an integrating function that coordinates the entire activities in logistics, together with logistic activities related to other functions such as marketing, finance, sales manufacturing and information technology (Long 2003, p.12). There are a number of components in logistics management, since it covers the entire business supply chain. Transportation logistics is one of the most discussed parts in these supply chain management. How a firm moves its goods from a certain location to a different one can have a monumental impact on the general performance (Long 2003, p.10. In a number of cases, this sector of the supply chain becomes given to a third party that deals in the transportation. This enables a business to manage all the seasonal and market demand changes, reducing the desire to hire and fire workers based on the business cycles. Nevertheless, transportation is just but a piece of logistics. There exist sectors in supply chain that get governed by this logistic management. These are; warehousing, supply, order fulfillment, transportation and also customer service (Long 2003, p.11). Supply Supply majors with the capability of securing goods or even raw materials that will later get sold to the consumer as finished goods. Running an appropriate supply requires considerable forecasting in demand, and the sound understanding of the minimum requirements in production to turn to profits (Long 2003, p.10). All the buyers based in the purchasing department, are solely responsible for getting the necessary raw material or goods, for the best available price and having the products in their possession when needed. Firms should have knowledge of the trends in the market to predict the supply that people will need, and to use this information to manage raw materials for the production of goods in order to meet the high demand. Manufacturers find this sector of the supply chain a little complex (Long 2003, p.11). They can employ a few vendors to make sure they will always locate all the raw materials the firm requires. They should always be aware of the lag times for these raw materials to reach their base. If any raw material takes three months to arrive from the date of purchase or order, the business should have not less than a three month supply on hand (Long 2003, p.14). The suppliers should be at all times monitored and counted. Transportation The transportation logistics does not only apply to the acquisition of raw materials and goods to the warehouse, but to supply all the retail locations (Long 2003, p.15). In other instances, the sales force moves with the goods at hand in a way to different retail stores, as with beverages and snacks. In a number of instances, leading retailers get shipments of goods from these warehouses. Where the movement of goods takes freight through country borders or state lines, management in logistics should address compliance with the set regulations whether local, federal and even international. Vehicles that get registered improperly or failure to reach the Transportation Department regulations can totally spoil a firm’s ability to transport goods when required (Long 2003, p.16). Such delays lead to additional costs as other third parties must become hired to take the goods where they should be on time. This is also a reason as to why a number of

African religion Essay Example for Free

African religion Essay Religion is being described as the belief in a supernatural power considered as creator and governor of the universe. The indigenous African people honored a superior being before the recording of history. They practiced voodoos, witchcraft, black magic, obyah and oledamare. The foundation of African traditional religion is faith based upon dogmatism. They have the kind of faith that does not require any evidence. The African traditional religion has great belief in the presence of spirits. Spirits, for the ancient African people, may be found in people, trees, animals, rivers, rocks, and mountains, and also in automobiles. The Africans loathe crimes such as adultery, stealing, cheating, and suicide. The Africans believe that these spirits convey their wishes, demands and instructions to other people through the traditional priests. These priests perform rituals to the satisfaction of their clients who turn to them for the interpretation of the spirit’s message. In Africa, there is a ritual performed for every event which are held through a dance, music or art that have been transformed into many forms. Yes, Africans do have their religion which actually centers on God just like Christians do. God is being perceived as the source of life and the creator of everything. For the Africans, creation is the sole work of God and there’s no other explanation for creation other than this. God is viewed as the omnipotent, the everlasting, ever faithful and the most merciful Father. Symbols also play an important part in the African society. These are conveyd into the religious sphere to build a strong connection between the unseen spirits and the living. We see these symbols on walls or printed on the clothes worn by the traditional priests and other people who wish to express their mood through any of these symbols. Source: Aderibigbe G. , African religion and Christianity in dialogue: an appraisal from the African perspective, Africana Marburgensia 32 (1999),

Airline Employee Work-Life Balance

Airline Employee Work-Life Balance CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A literature review is a concise overview of what has been studied, argued and establishes about a topic, it also entails about the major findings as well as reviewing the tools and techniques used by the previous studies. This chapter provides review of related literature associated with Work Life Balance of individuals employed in Nepalese Airline Companies. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section consists of an in depth review of major literature and related theories. The second section presents a brief review of empirical works associated with perception of WLB and work satisfaction of employees of Nepalese Airline Companies (work-family conflict, family work conflict, family satisfaction and psychological health). The literature review has been organized under: a. Review of major literature and related theories b. Review of Nepalese Literature 2.1 Review of major literature and related theories Table 2.1 Summary of major finding Author Major Finding Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985 Work and family role interference suggests that responsibilities in separate domains such as work and family compete with each other in terms of limited time, psychological resources and physical energy, which leads to negative outcomes in both areas. Participation in the work role may interfere or enhance the performance in the family role, and vice versa, participation in the family role may interfere or enhance performance in the work role. Barnett Rivers, 1996 Work and family role enhancement suggests that participation in multiple roles can lead to better functioning in other life domains. Hill, Hawkins   and Miller (1996) High integration of work and family domains can lead to negative consequences, as high flexibility can blur the boundaries between those two domains Clark (2000) WLB is satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home, with a minimum of role conflict. Presented a border theory according to which family and work domains are separated by borders which could be physical, temporal or psychological. Domains of work and family are essential, as family and work are the most important elements of everyones life. Higher flexibility and lower penetrability between work and family domains can result in lower work-family conflict. Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers Edwards et al., (2000) Referred to compensation theory according to which workers try to find more satisfaction in one domain to compensate for the lack of satisfaction in the other domain. (Grzywacz et al, 2000) Studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing were mainly conducted in the United States. Work-family studies have been dominated by role strain and role enhancement perspectives Work-family experience is a joint function of process, individual, time and context characteristics, and does not restrict the experience to either negative or positive. Barnett Hyde, 2001 Family is individuals who are married with children Greenhaus (2003) WLB is the amount of time and the degree of satisfaction with the work and family role. Balance between family and work domains also involves time balance, involvement balance, and satisfaction balance. Frone (2003) Presents a four-fold taxonomy of work-life balance(work-family conflict, family-work conflict, work-family enhancement and family-work enhancement, in which WLB is described as low levels of inter-role conflict and high levels of inter-role facilitation. WLB can be measured by work-family and family- work conflict as well as work-family and family-work enhancement Wise et al.,( 2003) Studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing were mainly conducted in the United Kingdom Bochner ( 2003) Studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing were mainly conducted in the Australia and New Zealand Collins et al., (2003) While assessing relationships between work and family domains, family life is considered as time spent with a spouse and children, ignoring other important aspects of family, such as time spent with parents, siblings and other relatives. Rothbard et al., (2006) Refer to spill-over theory according to which any feelings Allan, et al.,(2007) Research in sociology has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. Sullivan et al., (2007) Research in gender studies has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. Grzywacz et al., (2007) WLB is an accomplishment of role-related expectations that are negotiated and shared between an individual and his/her role-related partners in the work and family domains. There are different beliefs on how work-life balance should be defined, measured and researched Lambert et al., (2007) The majority of research on the correlation between work and family life refers with WLB and organization policies/ organization culture/ Human Resource management/ work commitment/ absenteeism/gender equality/ family life. Grady et al., (2008) Research in human resource management has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance Kelly et al., (2008) Research in organization studies has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. Grady et al., 2008 Work-life balance is vital for individuals wellbeing, organizations performance and a functioning society. WLB is more comprehensive and includes family, community, recreation and personal time. WLB in its broad sense captures all aspects of employees personal and work life; this suggests that WLB should be focused on individuals, families, workplaces, communities, and society as a whole Casper et al.,(2011) Employees experience more conflict between work and family. Employees experience more conflict between work and family as they continue to follow the quality of life that they need therefor, Work Life Balance has been a necessity (Casper, Harris, Taylor-Bianco,   and Wayne, 2011). For business practices and academic research Work Life Balance has been an important topic. Research in different fields such as sociology (Allan Loudoun, R. Peetz, 2007), psychology (Greenhaus , 2008); (Frone, 2000), Human resource management (Grady, McCarthy, Darcy, Kirrane, 2008); (McDonald, Pini, Bradley, 2007), organization studies (Kelly, et al., 2008) and gender studies (Sullivan Smithson, 2007); (Hill Buchan 2005); (Sullivan Lewis, 2001) has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. The literature review demonstrates some of WLB definitions. Clark (2000) describes WLB as satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home, with a minimum of role conflict. Clarke, Koch and Hill (2004) stated that WLB is an equilibrium or maintaining overall sense of harmony in life. Greenhaus, Collins, Shaw (2003) defines WLB as the amount of time and the degree of satisfaction with the work and family role. Frone (2003) presents a four-fold taxonomy of work-life balance, in which WLB is described as low levels of inter-role conflict and high levels of inter-role facilitation. Grzywacz (2007), Yavas and   Babakus (2010) believed that WLB is an accomplishment of role-related expectations that are negotiated and shared between an individual and his/her role-related partners in the work and family domains. The majority of research on the correlation between work and family life refers to WLB and organization policies or organization culture or Human Resource management or work commitment or absenteeism or gender equality or family life (Casper, et al., 2007). There are a number of studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing. These studies however were mainly conducted in the United States (Grzywacz Marks, 2000) the United Kingdom (Wise, Bond, Meikle, 2003), Australia and New Zealand (Bochner, 2003). In addition, several researchers (Greenhaus, Collins Shaw 2003); (Grzywacz Marks, 2000) noticed that work and family literature, while assessing relationships between work and family domains, considers family life as time spent with a spouse and children, ignoring other important aspects of family, such as time spent with parents, siblings and other relatives. According to Seligman (2012) and Hill (2005) the common consequences of poor WLB are depression and distress, leading to lower productivity, poorer work quality, higher absenteeism and staff turnover .Work-family research has generally been dominated by the study of family and work role interference. However, work and family role enhancement studies seem to be growing in recent years (Grzywacz Marks, 2000). Work and family role interference suggests that responsibilities in separate domains such as work and family compete with each other in terms of limited time, psychological resources and physical energy, which leads to negative outcomes in both areas (Greenhaus Beutel, 1985). In contrast, work and family role enhancement suggests that participation in multiple roles can lead to better functioning in other life domains (Bond, Galinsk Swanber, 1998). This study focuses on work and family role interference, measured by work-family conflict and family-work conflict. However, study on work and family role enhancement is suggested for further research. Bronfenbrenner (1979) insists that Work-life balance is vital for individuals wellbeing, organizations performance and a functioning society. There are different beliefs on how work-life balance should be defined, measured and researched (Grzywacz Carlson,   2007). Different terms are also used by different researchers while referring to work-life balance. Frone (2003), Greenhaus (2003), Clark (2000) refer to the term work-family balance whereas, Clarke (2004) refer to work-family fit, while Clarkberg (2001) refers to work-personal life balance and Grady (2008) refer to work-life balance. As work-family balance is often associated with traditional families which is   individuals who are married with children (Barnett Hyde, 2001), and this study refers to a family in both its traditional and non-traditional form; in order to avoid any confusion, the term work-life balance is used throughout this paper. Grady, McCarthy, Darcy and   Kirrane (2008) stated that the term work-life balance is more comprehensive and includes family, community, recreation and personal time. As stated by Dhas (2015) WLB in its broad sense captures all aspects of employees personal and work life; this suggests that WLB should be focused on individuals, families, workplaces, communities, and society as a whole. Several theories have been proposed by researchers to explain WLB. Clark (2000) presented a border theory according to which family and work domains are separated by borders which could be physical, temporal or psychological. Whereas, Edwards and Rothbard (2000) and Lambert (1990) referred to compensation theory according to which workers try to find more satisfaction in one domain to compensate for the lack of satisfaction in the other domain. However, Rothbard and Dumas (2006) and Grzywacz and Marks (2000) refer to spill-over theory according to which any feelings, emotions, attitudes and behaviors generated in one domain can be transferred or spilled over into the other   domain. Repetti and Crosby (1984), Rubin and Babbie (2010) and Grzywacz and Marks (2000)   proposed   more conceptual models where WLB can be measured by work-family and family- work conflict as well as work-family and family-work enhancement. Grzywacz and Marks (2000) implemented Bronfenbrenners   ecological  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   model which suggests that work-family experience is a joint function of process, individual, time and context characteristics, and does not restrict the experience to either negative or positive (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Clark (2000) explains that focus on the domains of work and family is essential, as family and work are the most important elements of everyones life. Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers (Persons Bales 1955), (Frone, 2000). Piotrkowski (1979) and Clark (2000) agree that measurable aspects of WLB are satisfaction, lack of role conflict and an overall sense of harmony. Greenhaus, Collins, and Shaw (2003) and Pallant (2013) believe that balance between family and work domains also involves time balance, involvement balance, and satisfaction balance. Frone (2003) and Piotrkowski (1979) states that the measurable four aspects of the balance between work and family roles are: (a) Work-family conflict (b) Family-work conflict (c) Work-family enhancement (d) Family-work enhancement. As these components have bi-directional effects on work and family domains, participation in the work role may interfere or enhance the performance in the family role, and vice versa, participation in the family role may interfere or enhance performance in the work role (Eagle, Miles Icenogle, 1997), (Frone, 2003), (Grzywacz   Marks, 2000), (Frone, 1992), (Greenhaus Beutell, 1985), (Grzywacz, Almeida McDonald, 2002).This study refers to the definition of WLB presented by Clark (2000), Eisenhardt (2012), Wilmot and   Hocker (2001) who believed that WLB is achieved when there is no role conflict, and when people are satisfied with their work and family roles. This definition seems to be the most relevant to this paper, as participants WLB and work satisfaction was measured using work family conflict, family-work conflict, family satisfaction and psychological health. Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers (Frone, 2000), (Clark, 2000). Clark (2000) explained that WLB is influenced by physical borders (workplace walls), temporal borders (working hours) and psychological borders (behavior and thinking patterns) between work and family settings. People cross these borders and make daily transitions between these two settings, often tailoring their focus, their goals, and their interpersonal style to fit the unique demands of each. Clark (2000) argues that keeping work and family lives separate enables the management of work and family borders; however integration of work and family lives eases transitions between those two domains. Each of these two approaches can improve employees well-being. This however is influenced by individuals preferences in terms of separation or integration. Clark (2000) found that higher flexibility and lower penetrability between work and family domains can result in lower work-family conflict. This again depends on individuals preferences regarding segmentation and integration. Research conducted by Fink (2009), Hill and Buchan (2005), Grandey, Cordeiro and Crouter (2005), Grandey and Cropanzano (1999) showed that high integration of work and family domains can lead to negative consequences, as high flexibility can blur the boundaries between those two domains. Flexible, integrative work-family arrangements can improve WLB by enabling employees to spend more time with their family . At the same time, when these integrating arrangements are so high that they blur work-family boundaries, they can worsen WLB and lead to higher work-family conflict, higher dissatisfaction with work and family life, and higher levels of stress or depression (Clark, 2000), (Hill et al, 1996). 2.1.1 Review of related theories.In this section, theories and concepts developed previously relating to Work Life Balance and its sub factors will be reviewed. Conflict Theory: In the social sciences, conflict theory refers to the theoretical approach that views social phenomena as the result of conflict between individuals or groups (Sidanius, 1993). The emergence of work life balance is due to work-family conflict and family work conflict generally. Conflict theory has developed at both micro and macro levels (Klein, 1996). Coser (1993) stated that the micro level studies the individual, and from his or her behavior seeks to draw inferences about collective behavior. Psychologists, social psychologists, and socio biologists locate the cause of conflict behavior in human nature either in the imperatives of survival that have programmed forms of aggressive and defensive response, or in individual aggressive impulses triggered by personality dynamics, such as ego need, frustration, and the projection and displacement of inner anxieties onto others (Levine, 2015) Sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and organization and communications theorists adopt the macro approach to conflict (Giddens, 2003). They hold that collective conflict behavior is not the product of individual behavior, but behavior socially induced either by a sense of collective grievance or by national leaders for purposes of defending the national territory or defeating another nation (Adorno, 2002). Tajfel (1979) explained that two groups may compete for scarce status, power, or resources without being in conflict. According to Coser (1993), conflict may have a positive social function. Some political scientists have asserted that conflict may be an unavoidable characteristic (Pondy, 1967). Conflict theory must take account of the motivation and perception of individual leaders and decision makers and to the extent that individual employees are engaged in the conflict by conscious appeals to their beliefs, the micro-level approach to conflict theory remains highly important to any comprehensive theory of conflict (Robbins, 2001). Gender Role Theory: One of the early Work Family Conflict (WFC) theoretical articles (Grandey A. C., 2005) proposed that WFC is intensified when the work and family roles are salient or central to the persons self-concept and when there are strong negative sanctions for noncompliance with role demands. WLB and gender role theories are interconnected as the perception of male and female are different (ONeil, Good Holmes, 1995). According to Grandey, Cordeiro and Crouter (2005) gender role theory, women are more likely to see the family role as part of their social identity than men do. Moreover, as womens roles in the workplace have increased, the expectations placed upon them in the family role have not diminished. Thus, when work imposes on family demands (WIF), women are more likely than men to develop a negative attitude toward the work because the job is more likely to be viewed as threatening a central social role (McLoyd, 1989). On the other hand, according Grandey, Cordeiro and Crouter (2005), men are unlikely to use this information to form work attitudes, because they are less likely to experience a threat to self if the job interferes with family time. Alternatively, at the turn of the twenty-first century, when dual-earner couples are common and women make up between 45percent and 50percent of the workforce in Westernized countries (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002), (UK National Statistics, 2002). Waldron (1989) emphasied that the context-specific role expectations for men and women have changed.   The studies conducted by Grandey (2005) in US, college students have been gradually less likely to endorse traditional gender role views about work and family. In fact, the extent of WIF and FIW have been found to be similar for men and women, despite gender role theory hypotheses that women experience more WIF and men more FIW (Eagle, 1997); (Groves, 2008); (Gutek, 1991); (Halpern, 2005). In contrast, perhaps men and women do not differ in their reactions to WFC, perhaps when both partners are working; they will equally resent their jobs if work interferes with family (WIF) and appreciate their jobs if this is not the case (Grandey A. C., 2005). Consistent with gender role theory, several studies have supported the proposition that the relationship between global WFC and job satisfaction is stronger for women than for men. This may be spurious, however, because work characteristics may be different for women than for men on average, influencing both WFC and lower job satisfaction (Wayne, Musisca Fleeson, 2004). Gendered-Division of Employment: Gender plays an important role in shaping our lives as even the attitudes and social structures are gendered. In Nepal, the bread winner-home maker model is the fundamental principle of any household. Nepali society greatly believes on the gendered division of labor (Cameron, 1995). Mens and womens preferences are strongly influenced by the interplay between their own gender and the nature of the social structures they encounter (Bussey, 1999). System of domesticity that relies on male breadwinners and female home-makers is largely intact (Cameron, 1995). A substantial minority of U.S adults still believe that men and women should have different work and family responsibilities (Pew research center,2013). Spillover theory: Spillover theory assumes the conditions under which the spillover between work and the family is positive or negative (Korabik, 2009). Research documents that if work-family interactions are strictly structured in time and space, then spillover in terms of time, energy and behavior is generally negative (Grzywacz Marks, 2000) . Research also supports the notion that work flexibility, which enables individuals to integrate and overlap work and family responsibilities in time and space, leads to positive spillover and is instrumental in achieving healthy work and family balance (Hill, et al., 2003). Compensation theory: Compensation is the set of valuable things that is given to employees in exchange for their labor (Sass, 1997). Usually compensation is money which is given to employees as an hourly wage or salary (Lazear, 1996). However, in addition to pay, some organizations offer benefits, stock options, bonuses, profit sharing, commissions, allowances and other rewards (Gerhart, al.,1995). 2.2 Review of Nepalese Literature Table 2.2 Summary of major finding Author Major Finding Tamang (2008) Role ambiguity influences WLB negatively; More ambiguous at work place lower the level of work life balance. Role conflict is positively related to work life balance Negative relationship between role overload and hours spent on paid work with WLB. Positive influence of all family stressor with WLB. Hours spent on household work is most influencing variable Positive effect of WLB on organizational commitment. Employees in the Nepalese hospitality industry do not feel any adverse effect of family domain to work life balance. Yadav and Rani (2015) The most significant issue to influence and develop WLB is organization commitment and individuals commitment. WLB strategies can help organizations in generating stress free environment. The study completed by Tamang (2008) seeks to explore the causes that influence individuals work life balance and its effect. This study was performed due to increasing number of day care centres in Kathmandu which shows Nepalese employees are looking for balancing their work and life domain. The researcher found that in one of the day care centres located at Kathmandu named Stepping Stone Pre-School takes care of 30-35 children some of them aged below 1 year as well. Children arrive early in the morning stay there till evening. With this regard, the researchers primary focus was to explore the condition of work life balance in the Nepalese context. The study examines the work life balance and its cause and effect through a survey conducted during 2008 in nine different stars hotels of Kathmandu, Nepal. Employees of these hotels were surveyed to determine the level of work and family stressors as antecedents, balancing between work and family, and organizational commitment as consequ ence of work life balance. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the condition of work life balance. Regression analysis was also used to examine the cause and effect relationship of work life balance (Tamang, 2008) In the study of Tamang (2008) the following theoretical framework was used:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Source: Tamang (2008) Figure 2.1 Theoretical framework for work life balance by Tamang. According to Tamang (2008), the following has been discovered: The study found first variable, role ambiguity, as important variables from work domain to influence on work life balance negatively as per theoretical expectation in the context of Nepalese hospitality industry. More ambiguous at work place lower the level of work life balance. Second variable role conflict has been found positively related to work life balance. On the other hand, the study found negative relationship of both variables role overload and hours spent on paid work with work life balance. However, the relationships discussed earlier except of role ambiguity were found statistically insignificant. The study found the positive influence of all the family stressors under study with work life balance in contrary to prior theoretical expectation. Among them the relationship of hours spent on household work alone appeared statistically significant representing most influencing variable from family domain, meaning that engaging in household work leads to feel having good balan ce between work and family in the Nepalese hospitality industry. At the end, the study found the positive effect of work life balance on organizational commitment as per theoretical expectation. In conclusion, the study explores the condition of work life balance in the context of Nepalese hospitality industry. The result shows low level of work and family demand, and good balance between work and family. In fact, employees in the Nepalese hospitality industry do not feel any adverse effect of family domain to work life balance. Especially employees feel good balance between work and family when they get involved in household activities more. On the contrary, ambiguous role at work alone was likely to feel imbalance between work and family for employees in the Nepalese hospitality industry. Finally, the present study provides evidence that the organization can be ensured the increased level of commitment among those employees having good balancing between work and family (P. 96) Another study by (Yadav, 2015) on female work force in Nepal concludes that the most significant issue to influence and develop Work-Life Balance is organization commitment and individuals commitment. The suggested work-life Balance strategies such as appropriate compensation and benefits, better employee relations, challenging job description, employee support plans, suitable employee Grievance Cell, creating productive work environment, family friendly policies, organizing workshops, can help organizations in generating stress free environment for working people and help improved Work life balance.

Charles Fraziers Cold Mountain Essay -- Charles Frazier Cold Mountain

Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain In Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier describes the epic journey home of wounded Confederate soldier Inman from Petersburg to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Inman’s physical voyage home is paralleled by the mental journey made by his sweetheart, Ada, in her transformation from ‘city girl’ into ‘mountain woman’. The story is woven around the experiences of Inman and Ada trying to rebuild their lives from the desperation and disaster of the war, all the while trying to find a way to see each other again--whilst they are so far apart. It also blends the horrors of war into their current lives, and the corruption that has scarred them forever. Inman and Ada’s respective ordeals help develop the themes of war, homeland, women and children which this essay aims to reveal. The motivation behind Inman’s desertion, when he â€Å"set his foot on the sill and stepped out of the window†, is not an issue that Frazier ever invites his readers to question. Having been surrounded by the dying, having witnessed the horrors of the first industrialized war which pitted countryman against countryman through the eyes of Inman, one feels deep sympathy. The horrifying battle scenes further add to the sense of the impermanence of escape offered by the war: â€Å"The fighting was in the way of a dream, one where you foes are ranked against you countless and mighty. And you are weak. And yet they fall and keep falling until they are crushed.† Frazier’s somber cataloging of the horrors of war creates enormous sympathy for his protagonist’s desertion, making it eminently justifiable. Inman’s disinterest in the issues of the war serves to show the lie of the common soldier’s involvement in the war. Frazier would posit that it is the job of the common soldier just to die, and in the most inhuman way possible: "Inman could hear the firing, but also the slaps of balls into meat. A man near Inman grew so excited, or perhaps so weary, that he forgot to pull the ramrod from his barrel. He fired it off and it struck a Federal in the chest. The man fell backward, and the rod stood from his body and quavered about with the last of his breathing as if he had been pierced by an unfletched arrow." Inman’s return home to a deeply changed place where he no longer has a role is indicative of the common fate of soldiers. What he has seen and done marks him out so distinctively fr... ...ich their mothers had been before their assimilation of each others characteristics. In the light of the horrors of the Civil War, and of Inman’s death after having journeyed home, it is also spiritually important for the novel that something of worth is seen as coming from all the hardship. There is nothing which could possibly equate with the magnitude of the birth of a child, offering hope where Inman’s wasteful death had seemed to banish it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Odyssey, closely alluded to in Cold Mountain, imposes a multitude of trial and tribulations on Odysseus and Penelope. Inman takes on the role as the modern American hero who is irreversibly changed by the circumstances of the war, enduring ‘rainy days’ and waves of hardship to return to his sole hope-giver, Ada. The individual experiences of the young couple liken to peeling an orange; each peel unveils images of the horrors of war, the romance with one homeland, the women’s strength and of the importance of children, all of which construct the themes that soundly define the novel. Biblography This paper aims to discuss the themes in the story "Cold Mountain", that is revealed through Inman and Ada’s respective ordeals.

Interest Rate :: essays research papers

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) carried out the zero interest rate policy. The decrease of the interest rate was expected to work for recovery of the Japanese economy. The interest rate was already very low and the analysts wonder its effectiveness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Due to the collapse of the bubble economy, the Japanese economy became sluggish and suffered from six trillion dollars debt. The increase of the government bonds caused the increase of the loan rte. It also caused the appreciation of yen and damaged the Japanese export companies because the stocks of the Japanese export companies were increasingly sold. Because the Japanese economy is largely supported by the Japanese export companies, this situation worked against Japan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In January, 1999, the Japanese government issued twice as much government bonds as usual. Soon later, the BOJ decided to decrease the interest rate to zero in short-term money market. Consequently, life insurance companies, which lent money to banks and earn money by its interest before, were forced out of business in short-term money market. Life insurance companies instead began to buy government bonds. Due to the increase of the demand of the government bonds the value of the government bonds remained the same even though the government issued bonds too much. As a result, the interest rate did not rise and money supply did not decrease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The zero interest rate policy was to some extent successful this time, but the interest rate cannot be decreased more than zero when the value of the government bonds decreases next time. Besides, most companies did not borrow from banks to invest new facilities even the interest rate is zero. Most companies had to downsize the organization and reduce employees and corporate bonds to survive in the recession. Even if they started new business and made new goods, Japanese consumers would not buy such things.

Custer :: essays research papers

Custer’s Last Stand The Tragedy of Little Bighorn is such a tale for over a hundred years. This is one of the most startling defeats in the Military history. More than two hundred cavalrymen were killed in battle on June 25, 1876. Is General Custer to blame for all this mishap with the loss of his troopers including himself? Who was the real person to blame? The details aren’t fully covered in the mystery of what happened at Little Bighorn. The Europeans came to battle with the Indians to conquer the North American land that hundreds of Indian nations had lived on for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. The Indians chief, Sitting Bull was a great military, political, and spiritual leader. He had a vision that the whites were going to battle with them. So the Indians were ready for battle. Who knows what would have happened if Sitting Bull didn’t get his visions. Would they be prepared? Would they have lost more men then they already did? It was a big concern to go to battle because of the loss of his people, but he knew that they were going to be successful with the challenge. The Europeans didn’t care about the Indians. â€Å"Everywhere that Indians live the whites speak of them as lazy, living off the Federal Government, drinking up their dole. It is essentially the same view of the Indian that prevailed in the seventeenth century.† This means that the whites felt strongly about the Indians not caring or being willing to pay for the natural resources that they were using up. All the whites cared about was the value of the land and the natural precious gold’s that came with it. General Custer and his men had been traveling for on going days without food and water. Lack of energy might have been the case for most of Custer’s’ men’s deaths including himself. Fresh trails were reported and on June 25th an Indian village twenty miles above the mouth of the little horn was reported about three miles long and half a mile wide and fifteen miles away. Custer pushed his command rapidly though they had made a march of seventy-eight miles in twenty-four hours preceding the battle when near the village it was discovered that the Indians were moving in hot haste as if retreating. Reno with seven companies of the seventh cavalry was ordered to the left to attack the village at its head while Custer with five companies went to the right and commenced a vigorous attack.

Ethical Dilemmas and Cultural Issues Essay

29 year old Sakura has been brought to counseling by a concerned neighbor because she believes Sakura is suffering from depression. She is listless and silent, and prone to staring in to space. During the course of the counseling sessions, it was discovered that Sakura’s husband has been violent towards her recently. Sakura is Japanese and has migrated to California two years ago, here she met and married an American husband. Sakura refuses to tell authorities because she is ashamed that her family in Japan would discover the failure of her marriage. She clearly tells the counselor that no one should know of the state of her relationship with her husband. A counselor is ethically obligated to inform authorities about the abusive nature of the relationship but she is also obligated to respect her client’s wishes. Framework for Ethical Decision Making (Velasquez, M. , Moberg, D. , Meyer, M. J. , Shanks, T. ,. McLean, M. R. , DeCosse, D. , Andre, C. , and Hanson, K. O. , 2009) Recognize an Ethical Issue Psychologists cannot break client-therapist confidentiality; Sakura has clearly expressed that her problems in marriage must be kept confidential and believes that her husband’s temperament is just being affected by his problems at work and the situation between them can be resolved. The counselor feels conflicted because the situation involves actual and potential risk for the client. Get the Facts Sakura is being verbally and physically abused when her husband is incited to anger by small things, like unwashed laundry or bland food. She sometimes gets bruises when her husband grabs he arms and shakes her or pushes her around. Sakura feels miserable at the state of her marriage but she was raised to be a loyal wife to her husband. The Japanese value a good marriage and frown upon divorce and marital problems. The Japanese believe marital problems must be resolved at home and must not be publicly acknowledged. This must be dealt with in therapy sessions sensitive to her culture and to her way of thinking. She must learn to value herself more than valuing the opinion of others. Evaluate Alternative Actions The counselor may decide to first try to convince Sakura of the unreasonable aspects of her situation. An establishment of a high sense of self-worth in therapy can ideally enable her get out of the abusive relationship by her own accord. However, when the danger is imminent and when it is clear that her husband is escalating in violence towards Sakura then the first area of concern would be to notify authorities to stop the abuse. Make a Decision and Test It The therapist can decide to tell the authorities about the nature of the situation, testing a decision can involve looking at the possible outcomes should the decision be executed. All other approaches must be considered; a useful exercise would be asking the question â€Å"what If I told someone I respect-or told a television audience-which option I have chosen, what would they say? † considering different perspectives is vital in making the choice. Act and Reflect on the Outcome Implement the decision, tell the authorities and monitor the outcome, Sakura must be guided in therapy and offered psychological support at all times. Reference: Velasquez, M. , Moberg, D. , Meyer, M. J. , Shanks, T. ,. McLean, M. R. , DeCosse, D. , Andre, C. , and Hanson, K. O. , (2009). A framework for ethical decision making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.