The aim of this paper is to discuss achievement in South Africa

The aim of this paper is to discuss achievement in South Africa since 1976 in terms of youth and revolutionary morality as well as youth and class. During the Soweto Uprising, the youth of South Africa has firmly established itself on the national political scene:‘[I]n 1976, South Africa’s youth took center stage and remained there throughout the unrest and strife of the 1980s and the political transformation of the 1990s. In fact, many observers see 1976 as the political watershed that culminated in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994. A direct line can be drawn between the Soweto uprising of 1976 and these elections’ (Slabbert et. al., 1994, p.9).  Ever since, the youth has played a major role in the public life of the country (Worden, 2000). By being preoccupied with burning political and social problems, the youth in South Africa takes control over their own future.Revolutionary identity, which was developed in 1976 and subsequent decades of struggle against apartheid, is still present in the young generation (Dlamini, 2005). However, youth in South Africa gradually accepts models of behavior typical for other developed nations. The development of youth subcultures is associated with the influence of new technologies and mass media as well as with increasing level of well-being of certain strata of the society (Dolby, 2001).Another reason for this development is that the decades of universal political activism are gone. As politics became routine matter and major social change was brought about by the deeds of young revolutionaries, the attention to politics has been gradually decreasing. At the moment, young people are more interested in solving problems of economic and social nature (Saul, 2005).Thus, other factors prove to be more important in the process of youth identity formation. Speaking about the process of youth identity formation in more detail, it is necessary to note another change that occurred in the recent period. For a long time, identity formation happened across racial lines, since blacks and whites developed subcultures of their own. Yet as the society becomes more just and integrated, there is a need to take into account all other factors influencing identity formation, such as class, gender, and ethnicity:‘The mutual political accommodation of the essentially human characteristics (identities) of the various categories of black South Africans may accordingly prove to be one of the crucial aspects determining the future of the country’ (Zegeye, 2002, ‘The end of black politics?’, para.5).   Proceeding with the discussion of challenges young people encounter, one of the major problems the youth faces nowadays is associated with lack of social power and deep class segmentation of the society:‘South African society is, even after the change brought about by the demise of apartheid in the 1990s, characterized by deep segmentation not only on t he basis of culture, race, historical background, language and religion, but also on the basis of economic and/or class status’ (Zegeye, 2002, para.7).  Many young people with string revolutionary identity and desire to contribute to social good are trapped in the vicious circle of poverty, isolation, and deprivation. It is of paramount importance for the government to unleash the creative potential of these young South Africans.On the practical level, this can be done by offering universal access to different types of education and crating more employment opportunities for the young. With unemployment on the rise, many young people cannot reap the benefits of vertical mobility and stay in the lower class for the rest of their life, despite their ability and willingness to work hard.Another major preoccupation for young people in South Africa is the HIV/AIDS. The spread of this disease produces a powerful impact on the patters of sexual conduct as well as sexual identity of young people (Peltzer, Pengpid & Mashego, 2006). HIV prevalence rate is especially high is young female citizens (Pettifor et. al., 2004). Apart from youth NGOs, church and religious organizations are believed to play a major role in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS through encouraging healthy sexual behavior patterns in the representatives of 15 to 24 age group which are at the highest risk (Ruden, 2000).Numerous youth organizations address the issue. In fact, it is necessary to mention that during the 1990s youth is South Africa manifested astonishing skills in advocacy and self-organization. As early as in 1992, the National Youth Development Forum as the united platform and the voice for the youth was founded (SAYC, n/d., ‘Historical Background’).Summing up, it is possible to observe that revolutionary identity is still present in the youth, yet activism is directed as solving problems related to social justice, economic empowerment, and public health.ReferencesDla mini, S.N. (2005). Youth and Identity Politics in South Africa, 1990-94. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Dolby, N.E. (2001). Constructing Race: Youth, Identity, and Popular Culture in South Africa. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Peltzer, K., Pengpid, S., & T.B.Mashego. (2006). Youth Sexuality in the Context of HIV/Aids in South Africa. New York: Nova Science Publishers.Saul, J.S. (2005). The Next Liberation Struggle: Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy in South Africa. New York: Monthly Review Press.Slabbert, van Zyl F., Malan, C., Olivers, K., & R. Riordan. (1994). Youth in the new South Africa: Towards policy formation. Pretoria: HSRC Publishers.Worden, N. (2000). The Making of Modern South Africa: Conquest, Segregation and Apartheid, 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.Pettifor, A.E., Measham , D.M., Rees, H.V., & N.S. Padian. (November 2004). ‘Sexual Power and HIV Risk: South Africa.’ Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(11), 1996-2004.Ruden, S. ( May 17, 2000). ‘AIDS in South Africa: Why the churches matter.’ Christian Century, 117(16), 566S.

William Manchester

William Manchester gained his notoriety in a series of biographies based upon the life of Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Through his writings in this work, Manchester made the colorful life of Churchill come alive as Manchester was able to capture an aspect and human aspect that had been missed by many of the other books on Churchill. The same is the case in this book: The World Lit Only by Fire. The book is divided up into three separate and distinct parts. The first part deals with the typical medieval European mind and all the impediments to free thought and learning that the Catholic Church had over the individual in his opinion. However, out of that time, according to Manchester, there was still able to emerge, some of the greatest minds, along with some of the greatest contributions, the world has ever known in the field of science, religion and philosophy. Manchester makes a list of twenty eight such individuals. Some of these would include Martin Luther, Copernicus, Machiavelli, Erasmus and his hero and the man to whom he will constitute the last third of the book about: Magellan and the great importance that Manchester feels, was the contributions that he gave to medieval Europe. The second aspect of the book deals with the Catholic Church and its role of importance and dominance in Europe during that time as well as the corruption of the Popes and the rise of humanism as a direct response to the Catholic Church. The Europe of the Middle Ages is a very large subject to tackle and Manchester does his best to encompass all of the major themes of that time as he sees it, into one comprehensive study. As the title suggests, Manchester attempts to show the relationship between the Medieval Mind and how it evolves into the Renaissance. This occurs through the evolution of religious thought into a more modern day aspect, a complete look at education and philosophy with major contributions to these fields occurring at this time along with the successes in exploration. However, this transformation would not occur overnight. At the beginning of the section entitled â€Å"The Medieval Mind† Manchester states that the age is plagued with the lasting effects of The Black Death, famine, illiteracy and common daily violence surrounding the courts of Europe. Manchester’s concept of the Medieval Mind also comes from the influence that the church has on almost every aspect of society, an influence that Manchester feels served as an impediment to learning. The example of Saint Bernard Clairvaux is given when he states that: â€Å"the pursuit of knowledge, unless sanctified by a holy mission†¦ Is a pagan act, and therefore vile.†[1] The medieval man or woman was left with nothing else than to contemplate God’s wrath and displeasure at their sin. Manchester stated that the only form of society that a typical man or woman felt was what was offered to them by the church. It is then that Manchester tackles The Reformation. In this, he credits both Erasmus, a moderate on issues of religion and which was ahead of his time in Christian thought and tolerance for other versions of Christian Faith, and Martin Luther, who took the Catholic Church head on and did all that he could to show the corruption of the church and dedicated his life to the education of the people. Due to the fact that the masses were not able and/or not allowed to learn how to read, the version of Christianity that was offered to the typical parishioner was typically void of Biblical truth in favor of Catholic Church doctrine which were sometimes in direct conflict with Biblical truths. Manchester goes into detail about the corruption of the church being allowed to flourish, due in part, to the masses inability to read and to know that what was being taught to them was not entirely true. In response to Pope Leo X who was in need of obtaining a large amount of revenue in order to finish the Basicilla at St. Peter’s, allowed Johan Tetzel to sell indulgences which offered eternal salvation to anyone willing to pay for it, Luther became outraged and sought to attack, possibly not the church as a whole, but this doctrine which was completely in conflict with Romans 1:17 which said that the righteous shall live by faith. The resistance that Luther offered to the Catholic Church eventually turned into the Protestant Reformation and as a result, there are more than 650 million Christians of a Protestant section. Another in the chief contributions that Luther gives to his German people, according to Manchester, is the completion of a German language Bible. In order to complete this, Luther had to be hidden away in a tower out of fear of retribution which would lead to death by agents of the Catholic Church, set on suppressing this which they saw the translation as well as the attacks that Luther made in response to the Catholic Church to be vile and wicked. Manchester, with regard to The Reformation, sees the entire process as being avoidable. Manchester sees the corrupt Popes during that time as well as the rigid rules that were put in place by the Catholic Church as being not only unnecessary, but also doing much to incite the masses against the church once an antagonist, such as Luther comes onto the world stage. However, since it did happen, Manchester sees The Reformation as not only a split between the church but also in history as much of Europe could now be split into one of two groups: persons belonging to the Medieval Mindset of superstition and absolute religious adherence, or a new consensus that allowed for the emergence of Copernicus and Galileo and above all in the mind of Manchester, the explorer Magellan. Manchester, in a continuation of his degradation of the Popes of this age, believes that their behaviors not only led to the religious reformation but also to the rise of the humanists. â€Å"Humanism†¦ led to the greatest threat the church had ever faced.†[2] The new inventions and ideas brought on my men like Da Vinci and Copernicus, according to Manchester, put into question â€Å" the certitude that knowledge had been forever fixed by God.†[3] The assertions by Copernicus as well as Galileo, brought into question the whole of idea of God’s omnipotence. Despite the fact that nowhere in The Bible does it claim that the sun revolves around the earth, since the Catholic Church asserted that this was the case and since the church had placed such a stronghold over the minds of the people, any blow to The Catholic Church and their faulty logic, also bought into question, the validity of Christianity as a whole. As a result, since some felt that God could not be trusted and that the inability to see him made the case for faith even harder, the only other logical source was to become a humanist and to believe in the capabilities of man since that is easier to see and to trust in the minds of the faithless. The corruption of the Catholic Church at that time, coupled with the inventions of Galileo and Copernicus, along with the huge popularity of Luther and Erasmus, a more secular and humanistic world view seemed to emerge and as a result, helped usher in the influence of The Renaissance. This brings us to the last section of the book which Manchester has entitled â€Å"One Man Alone.† A full 1/3 of the book is filled with the actions of the explorer Magellan and how Manchester gives a glowing review to the man and his accomplishments. According to Manchester, Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe â€Å"was the crowning triumph of the age, the final decisive blow to the past.†[4]Manchester includes this accomplishment as not only the greatest of the Middle Ages but also as part of a bigger picture: the religious revolution brought on by Luther and to a lesser but still important degree, Erasmus, the increase of secular power that Copernicus brought on with his achievements towards science. The majority of this section is a glowing review of Magellan and it seems to be, as one critic said: â€Å" a hero worship of the man.†Ã‚   Of all the people of importance that   contributed to Medieval society, Manchester makes a list of the twenty eight most important people. Some of these include Luther, Copernicus and Erasmus. The man that is seated on the top of this list of notables is Magellan. Manchester regards Magellan as â€Å" the linchpin for the men of the Renaissance.† [5] Manchester does not go into detail concerning what he means by this but rather gives a general review of the age which included both high and low culture. Manchester praises Magellan’s handling of the mutiny aboard ship, overlooks his distance miscalculations and refers to Magellan as the era’s greatest hero. In this hero worship of Magellan, Manchester seems to overemphasize the importance of Magellan and ignored the explorations of others. However, for Manchester, Magellan is the quintessential definition of what a hero is. â€Å"The hero acts alone, without encouragement, relying solely on conviction and his own inner resources.†[6] For Manchester, Magellan has always come to define such ideals. Manchester’s ultimate argument is that Magellan’s voyage is directly connected to the shattering of what he had come to define throughout his book, as â€Å"The Medieval Mind.† That is to mean, in Manchester’s opinion, a world that is ruled by superstitions as well as not only the corrupt Catholic Church but seemingly, most or all organized religions combined. Many reviews of Manchester’s book, The World Lit Only by Fire, does not contain a scholarly opinion of the book as Manchester’s telling of the events and conclusions to those events do not seem to be objective. There is seen within the pages of The World Lit Only by Fire, a great deal of biases, anecdotes and humor that seems out of place in a scholarly work of history. Yet, the book, for fans of Manchester as well as those interested in a fascinating read, will find his book, advantageous to that endeavor. A World Lit Only By Fire is an informative read, yet as its purpose does not possess educational intentions, it tends to include humor, perspectives, biases, and anecdotes that readers may consider not to be objective. In what was supposed to be a forward on a friend’s book about Magellan, is turned into a separate work on the Middle Ages and all that is occurring at that time. Manchester gives a less than glowing opinion of the Catholic Church, from the Popes all the way down to the nuns and places full blame upon the corruption and the questioning of there ever being the need for a Reformation in the first place, if The Catholic Church had remained pure and free from corruption. However, The Middle Ages also saw the rise of the humanists which placed their faith in what they could see rather than in what they wanted to see or were told to see by a dominating force as in the form of the Catholic Church. The achievements of Copernicus, Da Vinci and Magellan helped to usher in the rise of scientific thought that was seen to a great degree in The Renaissance that was to follow the days and events that are portrayed in Manchester’s book. A newly educated class comes out of the Middle Ages which will turn into the humanists. And to an alarming extent, compared to their ancestors from the region, become disillusioned about religion to a degree that is seen still to this day in America and in much of The West. In this regard, Manchester points out, as he does in many of his books, the idea that History is not static. That its importance is not bottled up in a far away land and in a time that does not serve any purpose to contemporary society. Manchester works more like a novelist than a historian as he overlooks anything that could serve as evidence to the contrary of Manchester’s assertion that the average Medieval Mind was pathetic and weak. It seems that Manchester regards as much, anyone during that time that does not have the honor of being on his list of twenty eight notables who lived during the Middle Ages. For those who agree, A World Lit Only by Fire will serve to validate such opinions. For those who feel as though there always more occurring during that time than has the been the consensus among a small but consistent minority of historians, the book will have the reader responding out loud to some of the assertions that Manchester makes. But in the end, William Manchester is a entertaining and, for those that cannot forget his works on Churchill, a great writer. WORKS CITED Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance. [1] Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance. 8 [2] Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance p. 112 [3] Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance p. 91 [4] Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance p. 294 [5] Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance p. 33 [6] Manchester, William.   The World Lit Only by Fire. The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance p. 225

Part Four Chapter VIII

VIII At half-past six that evening, Howard and Shirley Mollison entered Pagford Church Hall. Shirley was carrying an armful of papers and Howard was wearing the chain of office decorated with the blue and white Pagford crest. The floorboards creaked beneath Howard's massive weight as he moved to the head of the scratched tables that had already been set end to end. Howard was almost as fond of this hall as he was of his own shop. The Brownies used it on Tuesdays, and the Women's Institute on Wednesdays. It had hosted jumble sales and Jubilee celebrations, wedding receptions and wakes, and it smelt of all of these things: of stale clothes and coffee urns, and the ghosts of home-baked cakes and meat salads; of dust and human bodies; but primarily of aged wood and stone. Beaten-brass lights hung from the rafters on thick black flexes, and the kitchen was reached through ornate mahogany doors. Shirley bustled from place to place, setting out papers. She adored council meetings. Quite apart from the pride and enjoyment she derived from listening to Howard chair them, Maureen was necessarily absent; with no official role, she had to be content with the pickings Shirley deigned to share. Howard's fellow councillors arrived singly and in pairs. He boomed out greetings, his voice echoing from the rafters. The full complement of sixteen councillors rarely attended; he was expecting twelve of them today. The table was half full when Aubrey Fawley arrived, walking, as he always did, as if into a high wind, with an air of reluctant forcefulness, slightly stooped, his head bowed. ‘Aubrey!' called Howard joyfully, and for the first time he moved forward to greet the newcomer. ‘How are you? How's Julia? Did you get my invitation?' ‘Sorry, I don't – ‘ ‘To my sixty-fifth? Here – Saturday – day after the election.' ‘Oh, yes, yes. Howard, there's a young woman outside – she says she's from the Yarvil and District Gazette. Alison something?' ‘Oh,' said Howard. ‘Strange. I've just sent her my article, you know, the one answering Fairbrother's †¦ Maybe it's something to do †¦ I'll go and see.' He waddled away, full of vague misgivings. Parminder Jawanda entered as he approached the door; scowling as usual, she walked straight past without greeting him, and for once Howard did not ask ‘how's Parminder?'. Out on the pavement he found a young blonde woman, stocky and square, with an aura of impermeable cheerfulness that Howard recognized immediately as determination of his own brand. She was holding a notebook and looking up at the Sweetlove initials carved over the double doors. ‘Hello, hello,' said Howard, his breathing a little laboured. ‘Alison, is it? Howard Mollison. Have you come all this way to tell me I can't write for toffee?' She beamed, and shook the hand he proffered. ‘Oh, no, we like the article,' she assured him. ‘I thought, as things are getting so interesting, I'd come and sit in on the meeting. You don't mind? Press are allowed, I think. I've looked up all the regulations.' She was moving towards the door as she spoke. ‘Yes, yes, press are allowed,' said Howard, following her and pausing courteously at the entrance to let her through first. ‘Unless we have to deal with anything in camera, that is.' She glanced back at him, and he could make out her teeth, even in the fading light. ‘Like all those anonymous accusations on your message board? From the Ghost of Barry Fairbrother?' ‘Oh dear,' wheezed Howard, smiling back at her. ‘They're not news, surely? A couple of silly comments on the internet?' ‘Has it only been a couple? Somebody told me the bulk of them had been taken off the site.' ‘No, no, somebody's got that wrong,' said Howard. ‘There have only been two or three, to my knowledge. Nasty nonsense. Personally,' he said, improvising on the spot, ‘I think it's some kid.' ‘A kid?' ‘You know. Teenager having fun.' ‘Would teenagers target Parish councillors?' she asked, still smiling. ‘I heard, actually, that one of the victims has lost his job. Possibly as a result of the allegations made against him on your site.' ‘News to me,' said Howard untruthfully. Shirley had seen Ruth at the hospital the previous day and reported back to him. ‘I see on the agenda,' said Alison, as the pair of them entered the brightly lit hall, ‘that you'll be discussing Bellchapel. You and Mr Fairbrother made good points on both sides of the argument in your articles †¦ we had quite a few letters to the paper after we printed Mr Fairbrother's piece. My editor liked that. Anything that makes people write letters †¦' ‘Yes, I saw those,' said Howard. ‘Nobody seemed to have much good to say about the clinic, did they?' The councillors at the table were watching the pair of them. Alison Jenkins returned their gaze, still smiling imperturbably. ‘Let me get you a chair,' said Howard, puffing slightly as he lifted one down from a nearby stack and settling Alison some twelve feet from the table. ‘Thank you.' She pulled it six feet forward. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,' called Howard, ‘we've got a press gallery here tonight. Miss Alison Jenkins of the Yarvil and District Gazette.' A few of them seemed interested and gratified by Alison's appearance, but most looked suspicious. Howard stumped back to the head of the table, where Aubrey and Shirley were questioning him with their eyes. ‘Barry Fairbrother's Ghost,' he told them in an undertone, as he lowered himself gingerly into the plastic chair (one of them had collapsed under him two meetings ago). ‘And Bellchapel. And there's Tony!' he shouted, making Aubrey jump. ‘Come on in, Tony †¦ we'll give Henry and Sheila another couple of minutes, shall we?' The murmur of talk around the table was slightly more subdued than usual. Alison Jenkins was already writing in her notebook. Howard thought angrily, This is all bloody Fairbrother's fault. He was the one who had invited the press in. For a split second, Howard thought of Barry and the Ghost as one and the same, a troublemaker alive and dead. Like Shirley, Parminder had brought a stack of papers with her to the meeting, and these were piled up underneath the agenda she was pretending to read so that she did not have to speak to anybody. In reality, she was thinking about the woman sitting almost directly behind her. The Yarvil and District Gazette had written about Catherine Weedon's collapse, and the family's complaints against their GP. Parminder had not been named, but doubtless the journalist knew who she was. Perhaps Alison had got wind of the anonymous post about Parminder on the Parish Council website too. Calm down. You're getting like Colin. Howard was already taking apologies and asking for revisions to the last set of minutes, but Parminder could barely hear over the sound of her own blood thudding in her ears. ‘Now, unless anybody's got any objections,' said Howard, ‘we're going to deal with items eight and nine first, because District Councillor Fawley's got news on both, and he can't stay long – ‘ ‘Got until eight thirty,' said Aubrey, checking his watch. ‘ – yes, so unless there are objections – no? – floor's yours, Aubrey.' Aubrey stated the position simply and without emotion. There was a new boundary review coming and, for the first time, there was an appetite beyond Pagford to reassign the Fields to Yarvil. Absorbing Pagford's relatively small costs seemed worthwhile to those who hoped to add anti-government votes to Yarvil's tally, where they might make a difference, as opposed to being wasted in Pagford, which had been a safe Conservative seat since the 1950s. The whole thing could be done under the guise of simplifying and streamlining: Yarvil provided almost all services for the place as it was. Aubrey concluded by saying that it would be helpful, should Pagford wish to cut the estate away, for the town to express its wishes for the benefit of the District Council. ‘†¦ a good, clear message from you,' he said, ‘and I really think that this time – ‘ ‘It's never worked before,' said a farmer, to muttered agreement. ‘Well, now, John, we've never been invited to state our position before,' said Howard. ‘Shouldn't we decide what our position is, before we declare it publicly?' asked Parminder, in an icy voice. ‘All right,' said Howard blandly. ‘Would you like to kick off, Dr Jawanda?' ‘I don't know how many people saw Barry's article in the Gazette,' said Parminder. Every face was turned towards her, and she tried not to think about the anonymous post or the journalist sitting behind her. ‘I thought it made the arguments for keeping the Fields part of Pagford very well.' Parminder saw Shirley, who was writing busily, give her pen a tiny smile. ‘By telling us the likes of Krystal Weedon benefit?' said an elderly woman called Betty, from the end of the table. Parminder had always detested her. ‘By reminding us that people living in the Fields are part of our community too,' she answered. ‘They think of themselves as from Yarvil,' said the farmer. ‘Always have.' ‘I remember,' said Betty, ‘when Krystal Weedon pushed another child into the river on a nature walk.' ‘No, she didn't,' said Parminder angrily, ‘my daughter was there – that was two boys who were fighting – anyway – ‘ ‘I heard it was Krystal Weedon,' said Betty. ‘You heard wrong,' said Parminder, except that she did not say it, she shouted it. They were shocked. She had shocked herself. The echo hummed off the old walls. Parminder could barely swallow; she kept her head down, staring at the agenda, and heard John's voice from a long way off. ‘Barry would've done better to talk about himself, not that girl. He got a lot out of St Thomas's.' ‘Trouble is, for every Barry,' said another woman, ‘you get a load of yobs.' ‘They're Yarvil people, bottom line,' said a man, ‘they belong to Yarvil.' ‘That's not true,' said Parminder, keeping her voice deliberately low, but they all fell silent to listen to her, waiting for her to shout again. ‘It's simply not true. Look at the Weedons. That was the whole point of Barry's article. They were a Pagford family going back years, but – ‘ ‘They moved to Yarvil!' said Betty. ‘There was no housing here,' said Parminder, fighting her own temper, ‘none of you wanted a new development on the outskirts of town.' ‘You weren't here, I'm sorry,' said Betty, pink in the face, looking ostentatiously away from Parminder. ‘You don't know the history.' Talk had become general: the meeting had broken into several little knots of conversation, and Parminder could not make out any of it. Her throat was tight and she did not dare meet anyone's eyes. ‘Shall we have a show of hands?' Howard shouted down the table, and silence fell again. ‘Those in favour of telling the District Council that Pagford will be happy for the parish boundary to be redrawn, to take the Fields out of our jurisdiction?' Parminder's fists were clenched in her lap and the nails of both her hands were embedded in their palms. There was a rustle of sleeves all around her. ‘Excellent!' said Howard, and the jubilation in his voice rang triumphantly from the rafters. ‘Well, I'll draft something with Tony and Helen and we'll send it round for everyone to see, and we'll get it off. Excellent!' A couple of councillors clapped. Parminder's vision blurred and she blinked hard. The agenda swam in and out of focus. The silence went on so long that finally she looked up: Howard, in his excitement, had had recourse to his inhaler, and most of the councillors were watching solicitously. ‘All right, then,' wheezed Howard, putting the inhaler away again, red in the face and beaming, ‘unless anyone's got anything else to add -‘ an infinitesimal pause ‘- item nine. Bellchapel. And Aubrey's got something to tell us here too.' Barry wouldn't have let it happen. He'd have argued. He'd have made John laugh and vote with us. He ought to have written about himself, not Krystal †¦ I've let him down. ‘Thank you, Howard,' said Aubrey, as the blood pounded in Parminder's ears, and she dug her nails still more deeply into her palms. ‘As you know, we're having to make some pretty drastic cuts at District level †¦' She was in love with me, which she could barely hide whenever she laid eyes on me †¦ ‘†¦ and one of the projects we've got to look at is Bellchapel,' said Aubrey. ‘I thought I'd have a word, because, as you all know, it's the Parish that owns the building – ‘ ‘ – and the lease is almost up,' said Howard. ‘That's right.' ‘But nobody else is interested in that old place, are they?' asked a retired accountant from the end of the table. ‘It's in a bad state, from what I've heard.' ‘Oh, I'm sure we could find a new tenant,' said Howard comfortably, ‘but that's not really the issue. The point is whether we think the clinic is doing a good – ‘ ‘That's not the point at all,' said Parminder, cutting across him. ‘It isn't the Parish Council's job to decide whether or not the clinic's doing a good job. We don't fund their work. They're not our responsibility.' ‘But we own the building,' said Howard, still smiling, still polite, ‘so I think it's natural for us to want to consider – ‘ ‘If we're going to look at information on the clinic's work, I think it's very important that we get a balanced picture,' said Parminder. ‘I'm terribly sorry,' said Shirley, blinking down the table at Parminder, ‘but could you try not to interrupt the Chair, Dr Jawanda? It's awfully difficult to take notes if people talk over other people. And now I've interrupted,' she added with a smile. ‘Sorry!' ‘I presume the Parish wants to keep getting revenue from the building,' said Parminder, ignoring Shirley. ‘And we have no other potential tenant lined up, as far as I know. So I'm wondering why we are even considering terminating the clinic's lease.' ‘They don't cure them,' said Betty. ‘They just give them more drugs. I'd be very happy to see them out.' ‘We're having to make some very difficult decisions at District Council level,' said Aubrey Fawley. ‘The government's looking for more than a billion in savings from local government. We cannot continue to provide services the way we have done. That's the reality.' Parminder hated the way that her fellow councillors acted around Aubrey, drinking in his deep modulated voice, nodding gently as he talked. She was well aware that some of them called her ‘Bends-Your-Ear'. ‘Research indicates that illegal drug use increases during recessions,' said Parminder. ‘It's their choice,' said Betty. ‘Nobody makes them take drugs.' She looked around the table for support. Shirley smiled at her. ‘We're having to make some tough choices,' said Aubrey. ‘So you've got together with Howard,' Parminder talked over him, ‘and decided that you can give the clinic a little push by forcing them out of the building.' ‘I can think of better ways to spend money than on a bunch of criminals,' said the accountant. ‘I'd cut off all their benefits, personally,' said Betty. ‘I was invited to this meeting to put you all in the picture about what's happening at District level,' said Aubrey calmly. ‘Nothing more than that, Dr Jawanda.' ‘Helen,' said Howard loudly, pointing to another councillor, whose hand was raised, and who had been trying to make her views heard for a minute. Parminder heard nothing of what the woman said. She had quite forgotten about the stack of papers lying underneath her agenda, on which Kay Bawden had spent so much time: the statistics, the profiles of successful cases, the explanation of the benefits of methadone as against heroin; studies showing the cost, financial and social, of heroin addiction. Everything around her had become slightly liquid, unreal; she knew that she was going to erupt as she had never erupted in her life, and there was no room to regret it, or to prevent it, or do anything except watch it happen; it was too late, far too late †¦ ‘†¦ culture of entitlement,' said Aubrey Fawley. ‘People who have literally not worked a day in their lives.' ‘And, let's face it,' said Howard, ‘this is a problem with a simple solution. Stop taking the drugs.' He turned, smiling and conciliating, to Parminder. ‘They call it â€Å"cold turkey†, isn't that right, Dr Jawanda?' ‘Oh, you think that they should take responsibility for their addiction and change their behaviour?' said Parminder. ‘In a nutshell, yes.' ‘Before they cost the state any more money.' ‘Exact – ‘ ‘And you,' said Parminder loudly, as the silent eruption engulfed her, ‘do you know how many tens of thousands of pounds you, Howard Mollison, have cost the health service, because of your total inability to stop gorging yourself?' A rich, red claret stain was spreading up Howard's neck into his cheeks. ‘Do you know how much your bypass cost, and your drugs, and your long stay in hospital? And the doctor's appointments you take up with your asthma and your blood pressure and the nasty skin rash, which are all caused by your refusal to lose weight?' As Parminder's voice became a scream, other councillors began to protest on Howard's behalf; Shirley was on her feet; Parminder was still shouting, clawing together the papers that had somehow been scattered as she gesticulated. ‘What about patient confidentiality?' shouted Shirley. ‘Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!' Parminder was at the door of the hall and striding through it, and she heard, over her own furious sobs, Betty calling for her immediate expulsion from the council; she was half running away from the hall, and she knew that she had done something cataclysmic, and she wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the darkness and to disappear for ever.

Aviation Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Aviation Security - Essay Example The airports Australia very busy with passenger arrivals totalling to 100 million annually, of which, 20% are foreigners. Terrorism and crime are potential threats to aviation security which often happens due to security lapse. The 9/11 attack in America alerted most countries to enhance their security alerts in order to protect their citizens from potential terrorism attacks. Present aviation security systems have got their strengths and weaknesses which have to be closely monitored in order to enhance the aviation security. The development in technology is being applied to help fill the major security lapse which the terrorist and criminals are taking advantage of to pursue their selfish interest. This analysis is of the report of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit team after they reopened an inquiry into the aviation security systems in order to explore the significant developments in the aviation industry. The joint committee recognized the major initiatives by the government to extend and deepen security standards after continued media reports on criminal activity at the airports. Overview of Security Outcomes as Witnessed in Australia Risk Management, Regulation and Security Outcomes The aviation security industry in Australia has been intensified since 2004 by upgrading several layers of the old regulatory regime. The old regulatory regimes which were upgraded consisted of background checking and access and screening requirement and they have been expanded by widening the criteria of aviation industry participants in order to take care of the broader regulatory framework. Regardless of the model, the aviation security risks are addressing the acknowledged dangers within the aviation industry. The aviation industry in Australia applies the outcomes based regulatory approach as opposed to other methods due to its effectiveness in addressing security issues in the wide and geographically diversified country (Salter, 2008). Implementing the Ris k Based Approach Some of the participants claimed that the elements of this security regime remained too prescriptive, thus promoting unwarranted inflexibilities within the security system. The adherence by the regulator to this intelligence led and outcome focused model is faltering within time and should thus be re-evaluated for it to be effective. The claims of inadequacy in the reporting of the regulatory breaches are rampant in delivering the security outcomes as supported by most of the aviation operators. The auditing system is also accused of concentrating on one of the issues and considers the effectiveness of the system which supports the aviation security model. The participants identifies the expansion and upgrading of the regulatory framework as a risk based factor which is too rigid for the achievement of effective security system within the aviation industry. The participants also noted that the underlying reason for the rigidities of the security system as a result o f inadequate consultation between all concerned stakeholders within the aviation industry (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006). The Regional Aviation Participants By December 2003, the government announced its intention to extend and upgrade the about the 180 security classified airports and that all the non-jet aircraft with more than 30 sets to fit hardened cockpit door to enhance their security. The aviation Act of 2004 saw the implementation and expansion of aviation security

Training Professionals Have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change Research Paper

Training Professionals Have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change - Research Paper Example Due to the fast and continuous changes in the society specifically the economy and technology. The research is focused on one of the main factors that can affect change in the organizational structures, training and training professionals. In recent years, the role of training professionals in implementing innovation and change had been given attention. The main objective of the paper is to present the specific role of training professionals as the leader in achieving change and development in an organization. In addition, the methods of delivering changes and the exploration of the hindrances such as the perspectives of the different levels of leadership in the organizational structure are also included. The main role of the training professionals is to prepare the workforce for specific tasks within an organization specifically in the rapidly changing economic and technological environment. By doing so, they assist in cost-effective achievement of the company’s goals in a cost-effective and efficient manner toward innovation and change (Miller, 2010, p.1). But there is a recognized serious requirement for training in the present state of the workforce because companies cannot cope up. Based on studies, there is an urgent need for new people strategies that can improve business performance due to the observed low level of workforce skills (Pace, 2011, p. 19). Training professionals can be considered as the overseeing eye of the organisations in terms of the performance.

Leonardo Da Vinci Contribution To Aviation History Research Paper - 2

Leonardo Da Vinci Contribution To Aviation History - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that one of the great achievement made by Leonardo Da Vinci was his most significant contribution to the industry of Aviation. Leonardo Da Vinci was fascinated by the concept of flying human beings and this promoted him to develop thousands of words as well as hundreds of sketches that focused on the subject of aviation. His ideas regarding the aviation have been presented in the form of several codexes and one of the codes that specifically focuses on the aviation industry is recognized as the Codex on the Flight of Birds. His interest in the concept of aviation seems to be guided by the huge amount of in-depth work he has performed on the subject of militia and technology for military purposes. Due to his focus on military based technological advancements, he was able to develop the concept of aerial reconnaissance. He was the one who came up with the idea that there should be a machine that can fly and help in attaining the objective of ae rial reconnaissance. Most of Leonardo Da Vinci’s ideas were based on nature and he applied the same basis to the idea of developing an airplane or an aircraft that can fly with the assistance of flapping wings. This idea led him to design an aircraft which is recognized as ornithopters. While developing this design he did not take into consideration that fact the human beings have limited amount of capacity to move their muscles. But the design of two arms or wings flapping can be said to have provided a direction to aircraft developers in realizing that an aircraft needs wings to fly. A much realistic design and thought provided by Leonardo Da Vinci was on various concepts of aviation in his Codex on the Flight Birds. In Codex on the Flight Birds, he focused on the importance of center of gravity and its use in lifting the weight.

Multimedia Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Multimedia - Coursework Example rsity in the development of massive open online course (MOOC) that use multimedia in engaging learners in an interactive online training and educational program The most generally used multimedia applications are World Wide Web, hypermedia courseware, video conferencing, video-on-demand, interactive TV, groupware, online shops, games, virtual reality, digital video editing and production systems, multimedia database (Marshall, 2001a, p. 1). Experts posit that the broadly used applications are hypermedia systems through world wide web; multicast backbone that is strategically digitizing TV and radio streaming; and the enabling technologies which composed of carrier, switching, protocol, application, coding or compression, database, processing, system integration technologies (Marshall, 2001a, p. 1). Multimedia is also about developing a visual design hence, those who’d be working on website development for the Training Company must have deep knowledge on themes and styles which could either be comic, or simply informative or interesting, or must have some great ability for morphing, texture tastes and some techie explosions to make it attractive and impressive in its construction (Marshall, 2001b, p. 1). a. Social networks- this encourage creation of personalized pages and connect this to friends and associates or organizations to share content, statuses, photos, shouts, and ideas. This is also called as microblogs. The largest networks considered are, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn (W3Schools, 2012, p. 1). b. Blogs- this is a web space where a person can register and subscribe to write their stories, opinions and experiences. Blogs can either be personal, political, business, ‘almost media’, and mainstream media (W3Schools, 2012, p. 1). c. Wikis – this is a web where people and institution provide information, reports, and data as communal database. The most prominent wiki is Wikipedia that has been considered as the leading online

Pricing Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pricing Decisions - Essay Example Article 5 aims to find out the methods of setting prices which are dominating Slovenian business practice. Introduction The articles deal with the pricing practices and strategies in various businesses. As stated in article 1, the businesses and consumers have perfect knowledge of the marketplace but actually they lack the perfect knowledge. This makes the establishment of a pricing policy necessary. Article 2 is based on examining pricing for new product price decisions. It is basically the study of the three pricing practices with respect to competition, costs, and customer value. Article 3 states that products have been divided into four categories such as specialty, preference, convenience, and shopping. The research in this article is basically on the pricing strategy for the various product categories. The relevant strategy was selected as per the literature of the paper that is penetration and skimming strategy. Article 4 deals with the pricing of a short license for software service. Earlier, firms in this industry used to do the pricing based on the usage of resources. As computer hardware became fast and cheap the business model remained no more significant. With the recent spread of complex enterprise software, the cost of software maintenance and deployment has increased again. Therefore, the pricing scheme had been termed as subscription pricing. Article 5 states that pricing is not the most important but is just one of the elements of marketing mix. Inspite, managers complain quite often about the problems and pressures arising due to pricing of competitors, it is stated in the article that pricing is rarely a problem. It states that pricing should be such that the perceived value of the product or service should supersede the perceived price. Importance of the study Article 1 focuses on determining whether small firms use the same established economic principles that economists rely on while explaining the behavior of large firms with regards to pricing strategies and objectives. The study basically is conducted in order to determine whether the economic principles are appropriate for small businesses or not. Article 2 is significant because it deals with the aspects of new product pricing practices. The research paper assesses the ways pricing can be done for a new product. It is important from the perspective of a manager as its becoming difficult for managers to analyze the correct price for the value they are providing to their consumers. Article 3 deals with the aspects of pricing of various product categories which could help attain the corporate objectives of the firm. It is important because pricing should be done on the use of the product. The product category such as convenience products cannot be priced higher as because of the presence of many low cost producer firms in the industry. The research is ideal for serving as a starting point for a developing a framework of corporate objectives, pricing strategies, an d product categories. Article 4 is important because it is related to software pricing. The pricing strategy the researchers are focusing on is basically usage-based pricing wherein the firms will be able to acquire low usage consumers as they do not have to pay more than they use. Article 5 is important as the research is on pricing based on cost or customer. Literature Review Paper 1 In the year 2011, Dunn et.al conducted a study on â€Å"

Conscious and subconscious information processing Essay

Conscious and subconscious information processing - Essay Example Many analogies have been made to describe the conscious mind. One effective metaphor might be the telescope. Our conscious mind looks through it and sees a particular object in focus, unaware of the world outside of that telescope lens. Thus consciousness is limited to a small radius, although it serves its purpose. Another metaphor for the conscious mind would be an iceberg. The conscious mind is the tip of the iceberg that extends out of the ocean. The conscious mind perceives the world from information derived from the subconscious below, and from the physical world around it. Subconsciousness literally means beneath the threshold of consciousness, or that part of the mind that lies just below the level of conscious thinking. In the example of the telescope, while the conscious mind is looking through the small opening, the subconscious is recording the impressions while also searching memory banks for corroborating information. The subconscious mind acts as a personal secretary who records conscious data and who also retrieves relevant memories from the unconscious mind. It behaves like the RAM (random access memory) in a computer. It filters and retains information for the purpose of directing it to its necessary applications. A very active subconscious mind detects patterns to predetermine conscious thinking and behavior. For example, when we are first learning how to drive a car, our conscious awareness must be extremely focused in order to learn the skill. Once we have learned how to drive, the conscious mind goes on autopilot, and the subconscious t akes over, doing the driving for us. The way the subconscious operates is far different from the way conscious mind works. While the conscious mind is objective, relying on logic and literal thinking, the subconscious is subjective, processing the subliminal and symbolic meaning of words and imagery. Thus it is the subconscious mind that retains feelings and images from

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 37

Questions - Essay Example What surprises me most about the godly woman of Proverbs 31 is her trading skill. The woman’s ability to exchange goods in the market at a bargain and profit is incredible considering her responsibilities required domestic attention and skills. The woman was able to maintain a genuine sensitivity and show empathy in situations that would otherwise be stressful for other people. It is surprising that the woman realizes the needs of people who are less privileged while still catering to her own needs. What surprises me most about Songs of Solomon is that the Shulammite woman kept her virginity and purity for Solomon whom she honestly looked forward to be her future husband. This devotion moves Solomon to use words of high praise for being a pure woman. Solomon wrote Songs of Solomon from both man and woman’s perspectives. Evidently, the book contains many symbols of masculine and feminine natures that reflect relationships for those married in the true

Payroll System Essay Example for Free

Payroll System Essay This chapter presents the introduction, background of the study, theoretical framework, conceptual framework, statement of the problem, scope and limitation, significance of the study, and definition of terms of the proposed study. Introduction The emerging technology of today’s generation brought up the advancement of processes in people’s lives. Information technology (I.T.) is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communication and the integration of telecommunication and computers (Murray, 2011). Specifically, computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a finite set of arithmetic and logical operations. It lessens the tedious tasks carried out in manual based operations in the society. However, providing efficient security is still considered as one of the arising difficulties in information technology. Security plays a vital role in one’s daily lives and as forms of protection are structure and process that provide or improve security as a condition, it is present in all aspects of life. At present, one of the devices used in maintaining a strict security especially in attendance monitoring and payroll generation is the biometric technology or simply biometrics. Biometrics (MSU, 2012) refers to the automatic identification of a person based on his/her multiple scientific fields. One of which is his anatomical (e.g. fingerprint, iris) characteristics of traits. A biometric system made use of a fingerprint scanner, a sensor that employs the user to be present to enroll in the system so that his biometric template or reference can be captured. This template is securely stored in a central database or smart card issued to the user. The template is used for matching when an individual needs to be identified. Depending on the context, a biometric system can operate either in verification (authentication) or an identification mode. Thus, the identification mode of biometrics is frequently used in attendance monitoring in order to compute and generate payrolls. Biometrics or biometric fingerprint scanner is used in monitoring the attendance that supervises the employee’s daily time log and are stored in a computerized database. It maintains a daily record of a person’s arrival and departure time from work which helps in generation of payrolls. Payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries of an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. Thus, the main purpose of a payroll system is to lessen the tedious tasks in salary computation in order to generate accurate and timely reports.

RJR Nabisco Case Study Essay Example for Free

RJR Nabisco Case Study Essay Executive Summary The RJR Nabisco case study was used to implement concepts that I have learned in class during the semester and apply it to the real world. The Nabisco case allowed me to develop my skills by using an Excel Worksheet, understanding how to calculate the fair value price per share, and determining the fair value price per share by changing the tax rate and growth rate. First, I was expected to construct an Excel Worksheet. Using the given data and analyzing the case, I was able to find all of the fixed variables needed in the Excel Worksheet. Using these fixed variables, I was able to use my prior skills in Excel to construct equations to find the dependent variables, such as the fair value price per share. This case also helped me develop my skills in calculating the fair value price per share. Using the different variables given in this case, I was able to use equations to find the best estimate for the fair value price per share of RJR Nabisco. The third benefit I gained from this assignment was how the tax rate and growth rate affected the fair value price per share. Using the previous data and the reusable Excel Sheet, I was able to find the changes in the fair value price per share due to changes in the tax and growth rate. Overall, the RJR Nabisco case helped me develop my skills in using Excel Worksheets. It also let me apply what I have learned in class about calculating the fair value price per share, and allowed me to experience it in a more realistic setting. I was also able to see how changes in the tax rate and growth rate affect the fair value price per share. 1. Construct a reusable Excel sheet that computes the fair value per share using the information given in the case. Please make sure that your Excel sheet can closely approximate the value per share given in the case (~$108). I was able to construct an Excel Worksheet (see page 5) that was able to use the information given in the RJR Nabisco Case Study. I was able to make it using different variables that would allow me to change the tax rate and  growth rate to get the next two answers. 2. In your Excel sheet, change the input cell for tax rate to 15%. What is the new fair value per share? By changing the tax rate to 15%, it causes the price per share to increase to $123.19 3. Change the tax rate back to 34% and this time change the perpetual growth rate to 5%. What is the new fair value per share? By changing the tax rate back to 34% and moving the growth rate up to 5%, it causes the price per share to increase to $125.14.

Structure of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia

Structure of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational structure of a company and how it can be applied or beneficial to the company that have chosen. Supporting research and statements are clearly explained throughout this report. Here, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia has been chosen as the main subject of this study. Introduction Carlsberg Group was founded by J.C. Jacobsen in 1847. Since then, it has made its prestigious position to the worlds fourth largest brewery group. The headquarters of the Carlsberg Group is at Copenhagen, Denmark. Carlsberg Group extended their business to others market areas. Currently, there are more than 50 Carlsberg breweries around the world, and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia is one of it. Carlsberg Malaysia has incorporated in December 1969. Its expanded brand portfolio includes Jolly Shandy Lemon, SKOL Super beer, Carlsberg Green Label as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Due to the high quality of beer products, Carlsberg Malaysia has led the Malaysia Sales Market and left an effective impact on the economic growth. Organization structure is important to deal with in the organizations development. And yet, a clear and an effective organization structure is the major factor and force to lead Carlsberg Malaysia in their businesss development and growth. Designing Organizational Structure Management is the major issue in operating a business, it involves four functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling whereas organizing is an indispensable step to lead a business to grow. Organizing is an important process for the managers to design a formal organizations structure. As stated by Schermerhorn, Jr. (2011), the way in which the various parts of an organization are formally arranged is usually referred to as the organization structure. Organization structure identifies roles, responsibilities and tasks of each job position and the relationships among these positions. It must be coordinated and grouped in a logical manner in order to achieve the organizations objectives. Organization structure can be shown visually in an organizational chart. Drawing an organization chart is beneficial to the top layer management of Carlsberg Malaysia. When drawing it, those managers are forced to analyze the relationships between each job position and this may help them to make improvements. When managers design or create their organization structure, they must engaged in six key elements: work specialization, departmentalization, span of control, chain of command, centralization and decentralization, and formalization. Work Specialization The term work specialization, is to describe the process of dividing work activities in an organization into separate job tasks. Its also known as division of labor. Managers of Carlsberg Malaysia have put so much efforts on this step to design the effective organization structure. In order to increase the work output, they specialize each employee in doing a particular task rather than entire task. Moreover, there are some tasks that require highly-developed skills whereas some tasks only require lower skills, the managers use work specialization to make efficient use of the difference of skills that the employees or workers own. This approach is obviously beneficial in the manufacturing department of Carlsberg Malaysia. There are various types of brands manufactured under the organization. With this approach, every worker only participate in a single task or aspect of the production. For instance, one worker participates in the production of the SKOL Super Beer, another works for the Carlsberg Green Label, and so forth. Each worker could increase productivity and perform the maximize efficiency because they concentrate on their job task. Departmentalization After job tasks have been separated through work specialization, they are grouped together so that common or related work activities can be done in an integrated way. The basis of how jobs are grouped back together is called Departmentalization. Some of the standard and common forms of departmentalization used include functional, geographical, product, process, customer and etcetera. The way that Carlsberg Malaysia utilized to group activities is by functions and it can be evidently seen in the organization chart. The chart shows the functional structure of the organization, with top management followed by the functions of business development, marketing, human resources, financial and so on. In Carlsberg Malaysia, people with similar skills or performing the similar job tasks are grouped into work units. Each department will have the experts and the experts will be given the authority to make decisions within their areas of expertise. Following are the benefits of functional structure towards the organization: High level of efficiency and productivity performed by the employees because they experienced the same job tasks. Employees are easier to train because they only concentrate on specific and narrow areas. Job tasks tend to be done consistently because common knowledge share within the experts and specialists. Chain of command The organization chart that declared before in the report shows the well-structured chain of command, which identifies the relationship between the superior and subordinate. Robbins Coulter (2012) commented that chain of command is the line of authority extending from upper organizational levels to lower levels, which clarifies who reports to whom. When the organization grow in size, the chain of command tend to become taller and there will be more layers of management. Suppose an employee from Sales Department had a problem. He or she may come up with the question like: Who would help him or her to resolve the issues? This question can be solved by the following principle. Chain of command has underlying principle, which is the unity of command. The principle of chain of command states that an employee should report to only one manager. Working in Carlsberg Malaysia, each employee understand whom to report or responsible to. They are assigned to the respective managers. For example, salesperson only will report to the head of the Sales Department. Span of control Span of control can be defined as the number of subordinates that report directly to and effectively manage by a manager. It is an important consideration in how efficient Carlsberg Malaysia will be. The appropriate span must be concerned in management because it affects coordination. Tall organization structure has narrow span of control, while flat organization structure has wide span of control. Management of Carlsberg Malaysia classified as narrow span of control. Each manager has fewer subordinates to supervise. The managers are able to administer and control the subordinates closely, thus they will have more time to train their underling. However, narrow spans have certain drawbacks such as vertical communication will be become more complex and hence the decision making will be slow down, higher costs due to high level of management hierarchy, and others. Centralization and Decentralization Should most decision be made at the top levels of an organization, or should they be dispersed by extensive delegation throughout all levels of management? (Schermerhorn, Jr. , 2011, p.251) Centralization refers to the degree of authority for decision making at the upper levels of an organization, decentralization is the distribution of authority for decision making to the lower-level employees. Generally, small firms or company that started off in the hands of a founding family often use centralized organizational structure. Each conception offers pros and cons for the organization. Carlsberg Malaysia is a decentralized organization. The top management offers the employees authority to make decision as they are closer to the problem and they have more detailed knowledge and experiences about it so that they can act more quickly to give solution to the problem. For example, Carlsberg Malaysia offers their sales department adequate authority on choosing what method to promote the new product rather than enforce them to promote in traditional ways. Decentralized structure takes some burden of day-to-day non-important problem solving off the top management, so they are left free to put more effort on their strategic planning, higher-level decision making and important financial decisions. Moreover, decentralization provides low-level employee with crucial experience in making decision. With this experience, they would be well prepared to act decisively after they are promoted into higher-level positions. Formalization Nowadays, employees are expected to deal with the same input in exactly the same way and provide a consistent output. This is a highly formalized organizations expectation. As indicated by Robbins Coulter (2012), formalization refers to how standardized an organizations jobs are and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures. When formalization is high, the organization offers specific job descriptions, many organizational rules, and clear work processes. Conversely, in a low formalized organization, the employee will have more freedom in how they do their work. To make a more flexible working environment, Carlsberg Malaysia tends to become low formalized organization although formalization is needed for consistent control. Rules may be too restrictive in some situations. Thus, they give the employees sufficient independence to make decisions that they feel the best under the circumstances and would not affect the organizations reputation. However, it does not mean the employees do not need to obey the organizational rules and regulations since there will be some important staff policies such as not to use company computer to view social network like Facebook. Employee satisfaction will be increase by working in this freedom and positive working environment and employee turnovers rate will be reduced. Conclusion A well-organized internal structure is important for every organization to operate and run their business. Additionally, the size of the organization indicate the degree of work specialization, departmentalization, span of control, chain of command, centralization and decentralization and formalization required. Therefore, the management of Carlsberg Malaysia need to determine which structure will be the most effective for them.

A Normal School Day :: Free Essays

A Normal School Day The cold air hit me in the face as I opened the door, and with it a cold foggy world unfolded. The air was cold and crisp, and their was a slight crunch as my steps crushed the crystallised green structures on the cold sleeping floor as I made my way across the field towards the lonely bus stop, trying to dodge the muddy, waterlogged pits that filled the field. As I reached the end of the field, I had top scramble down a short slimly path to my destination which was very slippery at this time if year. The bus stop couldn't really be called a bus stop, it was just a post in the ground with a picture of a bus on it which had the rank of 'bus stop'. We had to wait for minutes that felt like hours, for a dirty cream and brown box with a grumpy face, covered from wheel to roof in dust, the red mud around the rims had dried from previous excursions, the remains of its unsuspecting muddy victims. The dirty rotting portal of a door opened with a hiss as we all filled in to the rotting carcass on wheels. The journey only lasted 20 minutes, which is nothing if you have lived her all your life, after a while you begin to realise that its only the tourists who are willing to acknowledge your existence in the world, which is good in a way. But we never had proper roads, when we pointed on a map and said 'that's it , that's where I live, they would look at you strange as you pointed at one small A road running through mid-Devon. Even the map denied our existence, they only ever showed the one road that meant so much to us, our one link to the outside world 'the city'. The bus was warm in the cramped bus, which managed to raise our spirits as the rain hit the ancient windowpanes, and watching the wind fighting with the trees, trying get its own way.

Ecuador’s Economy: Oil and Agriculture, Overdependence Essay -- Ecuado

Ecuador’s Economy: Oil and Agriculture, Overdependence One of the main features of Ecuador ’s economy is its dependence on only a few key export commodities, most importantly oil and bananas. Oil accounts for approximately 40% of the export economy, while bananas are responsible for about 17%, and Ecuador is the largest producer of bananas in the world. The rest of the economy is mostly based on less important agricultural exports, such as shrimp and flowers, which account for 6% and 4% of exports respectively. Ecuador is almost completely reliant on the success of these few industries, particularly oil, and so has suffered through a cycle of boom and bust economies over the past several decades, since oil was discovered in the 1970s. Furthermore, in the last six years Ecuador has had four different presidents, and the national office has been dogged by scandals and corruption. This environment has made it very difficult for the government to accomplish the reforms that are necessary to stabilize the nation when the economy faces a serious downturn. There are two main factors that have been very significant in determining the health of Ecuador ’s economy at any given time, and those are oil prices and extreme weather events. Ecuador’s major agricultural exports are, of course, very susceptible to damage from harmful weather; while the oil industry, until quite recently, has been dependent on only one major pipeline for transport, the Sistema Oleoducto Trans-Ecuatoriano (SOTE). In 1987 a large earthquake rocked Ecuador, destroying a large stretch of the SOTE pipeline, which, when combined with a decline in world oil prices, nearly resulted in a complete collapse of the economy. Another devastating weather event, which also... ...gale, Marcelo, and Lopez-Caliz, Jose (ed.), Ecuador: An Economic and Social Agenda in the New Millennium, (The World Bank: Washington DC, 2003). â€Å" Ecuador Country Analysis Brief,† Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/ecuador.html, vie we d on 18 November 2004. â€Å" Ecuador Business > Economic Overview & History,† Ecuador Explorer, http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/business_in_ecuador.html, vie we d on 18 November 2004. â€Å" Ecuador,† InfoPlease, http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107479, vie we d on 8 December 2004. â€Å"Foreign Trade,† Ecuador Exports, http://www.ecuadorexports.com/foreign.htm, vie we d on 8 December 2004. â€Å" Ecuador Country Case Study: Impacts and Responses to the 1997-98 El Nià ±o Event,†Institute for the Study of Society and Environment, http://www.esig.ucar.edu/un/ecuador.html, vie we d on 2 November 2004.

Policies In Atlantic Canada :: essays research papers

From the period of early contact from 1534-1736 it was concluded that Indian religion was useless and therefor did not pose an impediment in the process of converting Indians to Christianity. The process of conversion included a period of persuasion and instruction followed by baptism. The French missions were successful in areas where there was permanent Aboriginal settlement. These efforts influenced all areas of social policy especially the belief that all Aboriginals should be converted to Christianity. The period of the Royal Proclamation from 1783-1839 was a result of British Military policy that recognized the importance of First Nation allies in the victory over France. In 1755 during the initial stages of the war, the British developed an Indian department with a complete suerintendent of Indian Affairs. This was not successful in preventing colonists from appropriating First Nation land. When Britain was successful in the war with France, France ceded most of it’s North American territory and the First Nations were not satisfied being under British rule. This led to Pontiacs rebellion where several British forts were captured. The Royal Proclamation was essentially drafted on the advice of the colony concerning measures to reconcile with First Nations. It was the first constitution under British rule that recognized that the territory outside of the colonial boundaries was reserved as hunting grounds for First Nations. The Royal Proclamation was the legal base for British-Indian policy. The transition of the Royal Proclamation into Canadian social policy occurred when colonial correspondents indicated that First Nations were not longer military allies. Colonial policies were changed by an administration aimed at civilizing First Nations way of life. Of particular importance was the schooling of First Nation children. Gifts that were originally used to compensate for land surrendered to the British were now conditional on the basis of whether or not First Nation parents sent their kids to school. Those parents who did not abide by this rule were subject to criminal charges.

Good Hotel: Doing Good, Doing Well Essay

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore Case Study # 10 – Good Hotel: Doing Good, Doing Well?excerpted from Strategic Management: Planning for Domestic and Global Competition Thirteenth Edition authored by John A. Pearce II and Richard B. Robinson published 2013 by The McGraw – Hill Companies New York, NY. This paper will seek to address five issues concerning the Good Hotel case study. This paper will discuss the vision/mission behind the concept of the hotel. Pam Janusz’s considerations that she may present to the new hotel ownership will be discussed. The Good Hotel’s target customers will be defined and assessed. The marketing strategy of jDV for the Good Hotel will also be assessed and discussed. Finally, this paper will give insight as to how the Good Hotel should be competitively positioned against its rivals. Keywords: Hotels American Pacific International Capital, Inc. acquired the Good Hotel located in San Francisco in May 2010 and is now managed by HAIYI Hotels and Management Group. (Hotel Interactive, 2010) Joie de Virve was the prior management of the Good Hotel. (Pearce and Robinson, 2013) The hotel is referred to as a â€Å"hotel with a conscience.† (Pearce and Robinson, 2013) The hotel desires to inspire the â€Å"good in us all.† (Pearce and Robinson) Mission/Vision The Good Hotel’s mission is to make differences for guests and associates by sharing passions for work, life and individualized experiences. (Haiyi Hotels). Its vision is to be a unique boutique hotel with its own character  and style.(Haiyi Hotels). Pam Janusz Considerations Pam Janusz weighed three different options for the hotel to present to the new ownership. She considered the continuing, expanding, or discontinuing Good Hotel’s concept. The continuation of the current concept would have a minimum effects on operations. The recently trained staff embraced the current concept which led to increased customer satisfaction and occupancy, and financial results were being met or exceeded. Continuing the concept of the hotel can also have disadvantages. Increased awareness of the need to become more friendly to the environment may lead to a more competitive marketplace. The employees could become complacent and may resist future needed changes. The hotel may acquire a greater market share if the current concept was expanded. This option could increase the hotel’s occupancy and increase the financial bottom line. Since the associates have recently been trained on the current concept, they may be more receptive of additional training to expand the concept instead of replacing the concept completely. The decision to expand could have some repercussions though. Employees may be resistant of the additional training and there would be additional costs and decreased productivity, because of the training. The third consideration of Pam was to completely discontinue the current concept of the hotel and seek a new direction. If this option was chosen, then there would be a fresh new start under new management with a new concept of the hotel. This decision may be beneficial or detrimental to the hotel. It could be beneficial because of a fresh new start. The hotel could re-brand itself by setting a new tone and image. The cons of the decision to discontinue the current concept are similar to the cons of expanding. With discontinuing the current concept, associates may resist the change especially since they have recently been trained on the current concept. They would have to be trained a new concept and the training comes with a monetary cost. Good Hotel’s Customers The Good Hotel targets customers who are environmentally conscious. These customers are referred â€Å"Cultural Creatives† by sociologists(Pearce and Robinson, 2013) These customers tend to be younger in age and hold the belief that they are to be responsible both economically   environmentally. JdV’s Marketing Strategy Chip Conley, JdV’s founder and CEO, stated that he became interested in hospitality industry because he â€Å"enjoyed commercial real estate but hated the transactional part.† (Pearce and Robinson, 2013) Per Conley, if a customer perceives a hotel as an extension of themselves, then the hotel would be an aspiration to them. JdV’s strategy is being â€Å"geographically focused and product-line diverse.† This strategy may suffice, but it can also have disadvantages. The greatest disadvantage of this strategy is the limitation placed upon itself by filling a niche market which will lead to a smaller segment of customers desiring their services. Competitive position The Good Hotel has positioned itself competitively in relation to industry rivals. Great strides were made by the Good Hotel from 2009 to 2010. The hotel’s twelve month occupancy from 2009 to March 2010 increased 61.3%. (Pearce and Robinson, 2013) The industry’s twelve month occupancy declined 9.9% over this period. (Pearce and Robinson, 2013) The hotel has a great outlook for future profitable business. References Haiyi Hotels. About Haiyi Hotels. Retrieved 05/07/2014 http://www.haiyi-hotels.com/ soma-hotels-san-francisco-en.html Hotel Interactive. May 3, 2010. Haiyi Hotels and management group assume ownership of three San Francisco hotels subsidiaries of American Pacific International Capital, Inc (APIC) make first U.S. Hotel purchases in San Francisco, California. Retrieved 05/07/2014 from http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=16899. Pearce, John A. II and Robinson, Richard B. Robinson, Jr. Strategic management. 13th edition McGraw Gill. 2013.

Criminal justice Essay

While each state may have its own principles of the justice system, it is evident that there is a very vast difference between the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal justice system. The juvenile justice system’s underlying principle is that the youth are inherently different from the adults in as much as their development is concerned. Hence, in the juvenile justice system, its primary goals are to rehabilitate and protect the youth offender. On the other hand, in the adult criminal justice system, it considers deterrence, not rehabilitation as its primary goal. It also believes that the punishments and sanctions of the offender must be proportionate with the offense. Therefore, the graver the offense, the harsher the punishment should be. In terms of court proceedings, the adult criminal justice system entails that the proceeding and court records be made public. This is one of rights of an adult offender. Yet, in the juvenile justice system, court proceedings are confidential and limitations are placed on the access of the court records and proceedings in the belief that these youth offenders can still be rehabilitated and if their rehabilitation and records are made public, these might cause harmful and unnecessary shame and dishonour to the youthful offender. But both the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems allow parole to be given to the offenders. For youth offenders, parole combines surveillance with activities to reintegrate the juvenile into the community while the adult criminal justice system is primarily based on surveillance and monitoring of illicit behavior. â€Å"Juvenile Justice: A Century of Change. Washington DC: Office of Juvenile Justice, 1999. ) Lastly, both of these criminal justice systems are similar in a way that both allow detention of its offenders. They just vary in purpose because in the juvenile justice system, an offender may be detained for his own protection and the community’s protection as well while in the adult justice system, the defendant has the right to apply for bail.

Genzyme Summary Essay

Genzyme was founded in 1981, Sanofi purchased the company in 2011. They went public in 1986, raising 27 million dollars. Genzyme startet as a start up Company by scientists studying genetically inherited enzyme diseases. Their strategy didn’t focus on the â€Å"blockbuster drugs† like other biotechnology companies but drugs for rare diseases. To developing a drug, it takes 10-14 years at the cost of around 800 million. But the blockbuster drugs had 1 billion dollars revenue. Genzyme has received several honor awards like â€Å"national medal of technology†. The food and drug administration established in 1983 the â€Å"Orphane drug act† giving seven years market exclusivity to developers of drugs for rare diseases. This gave Genzyme big advantage when it comes to clinical trials, advertising and sales, it does not requires a lot. Their first success was the â€Å"Ceredase† drug- to treat the Gaucher`s disease. It was sold to over 4000 patients, with annual revenue of 800 million dollars. They had different way of manufacturing and sales compare to other companies. They did not do licensing to large pharmaceutical company. Genzyme was the worlds third largest biotech company in 2006 only profiting of rare diseases. Reflection of the case * Avoided â€Å"blockbuster† market and good management Good strategic to focus on a niche market instead of the †blockbuster† market. The degree of existing rivalry and entry barriers was low. Henri Termeer took a risk in moving to a start up company but with his experience and expertise, the company went stronger and independent. * First ones to market and the exclusivity Genzyme entered a small, untapped market. Being the first biotech company that focus on rare diseases and having the market exclusivity made them leading biotech company. They had the ability to identify almost all customers. They had big advantage when is comes to clinical trials, restrictions, FDA and small numbers of test patients required.

Political Events and Shipping Demand Essay

Introduction Modern shipping is the life-blood of the world; without it, much of the demand for imports and exports would not be met. In 2006, world seaborne trade was estimated to have reached 30,686 billion ton-miles, having grown by 5. 5% over the previous year. Despite the prevalence of air transport, up to 90% of world trade is carried over the oceans in humble ships. The demand for seaborne trade is driven primarily by the world economy; various industries produce the goods that need to reach different parts of the world. In its most recent World Economic Outlook , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted global growth of 3. per cent for the rest of 2008, lower by 0. 2 per cent from the previous month’s estimate. In spite of the dip, the world economy is still growing annually, led by the emerging markets that are hungry for resources to fuel their growth. Beyond the economy, there are several other factors that determine demand for shipping. This paper seeks to evaluate the role of political events and its impact. In addition, it seeks to look into which commodity is most affected by such incidents. In his book, Maritime Economics, Martin Stopford writes that ‘no discussion of sea transport demand would be complete without reference to the impact of politics’. In the following paragraphs, this paper will address the main types of events that affect shipping demand both positively and adversely. 2. 0Political events that have affected shipping demand the most 2. 1Opening-up of the Chinese economy The accession of China into the ranks of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Beijing winning the bid to host the Olympics in 2001 were events that had large political motivations and caused a tremendous rise in demand for shipping. Since then, China’s economy has seen astronomical growth. In order to fuel this development, the country has increased both its imports and exports in almost every industry. This has taken the world by storm as countries the world over compete to feed and fuel the world’s most populous country. Hence, seaborne trade and demand for shipping worldwide has been skyrocketing as a result of China’s booming economy. 2. 2War and the economic embargoes Conversely, war and economic embargoes and sanctions are the leading cause of a drop in maritime activity. In broad terms, the hostilities in the Middle-East region have led to disruptions in movements of oil shipments to the developed world. In the 1950s, the Suez Crisis between Britain, France and Israel against Egypt, led to the diversion of ships around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the tensions. Two decades later on 17 October 1973, the ongoing Yam Kippur War caused the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries to stop shipping oil to nations that supported Israel’s war efforts. The impact of this embargo on shipping was the collapse of the oil tanker market and led to a series of recessions and periods of high inflation that persisted until the 1980s. Other examples would include the Korean War in 1950 and the Gulf War in the early 1990s. . 0Commodities affected Crude oil accounted for 26. 9 per cent of total goods loaded in 2006. Due to the sheer quantity of oil being shipped worldwide, any political event jeopardizing seaborne trade would usually entail oil shipments being affected. This is because the resource is abundant in only certain parts of the world; the Middle-East is one such region that is plagued with rogue political regimes and instability. In the above-mentioned events in the region, the hostilities resulted in disruptions to the oil trade and consequently, oil price. This would be discussed in the section on Iran. Another sector that would be affected would be the metal industry trades and in particular, that of iron ore. Western Australia and Brazil are major exporters of iron ore to growing markets like China which need it for its continued development. 4. 0Opening of China’s economy Since the 1970s, China has been gradually introducing economic reforms and providing enterprises with autonomy. However, it was only in the last 2 decades that the world’s 2nd largest economy has opened itself up to greater foreign investment and world trade. This was carried out through the relaxation of import and export controls and trade reforms in the form of reduced tariffs. All this led to a significant milestone for China and the world – its ascension into the ranks of the WTO on 11 December 2001. In addition, Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics that same year. These 2 events have set the stage for China’s rapid development. In the following paragraphs, this paper will explain its effects on the world and global trade and shipping. Based on a working paper by the IMF written in 2004, the international impact of China’s ascension into the WTO is far reaching. Firstly, sustaining the growth of China would provide benefits to its trading partners; beyond the processing of trade, there has been significant growth in imports for domestic use and outbound tourism. Secondly, China’s insatiable thirst for energy and metal imports have since fuelled the rapid rise in imports of such commodities. Lastly, multinational companies are tapping into the large domestic market especially with the freeing up of the country’s banking sector. This paper believes that China’s meteoric rise over the last two decades and more significantly, since the dawn of the new millennia, have created a surge in demand for world seaborne trade and shipping. 4. 1China’s role in transforming Western Australia and beyond As a result of China’s booming steel industry, Australian exports of iron ore to China reached more than A$4 billion last year. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, two of the world’s largest resource companies, share the metal-rich Pilbara of Western Australia to feed China’s demand. The latter is hoping to double its 2007 iron-ore production in four years. This mining boom in the traditionally ‘sleepy’ side of Australia spells good news for its economy and residents. In an interview with the Economist , Eric Ripper, finance minister of Western Australia, said that his state has been fighting to bring in a A$9 million surplus seven years ago. Last year, the country’s largest state (by land area) grew by 6. 3%, twice that of the entire country. In addition, it now boasts a healthy surplus of A$2 billion. Besides iron ore, China has a tremendous hunger for other natural resources. All across the world, Chinese firms are finding new sources for crude oil, natural gas, metal and coal. Ships have been queuing off Newcastle in Australia to load cargo bound for China; at one point in June 2007, the queue was 79 ships long . In short, the rise in import demand by the Mainland has helped countries in Latin America and Africa grow their own economy. Another country that has seen business grow is the shipping giant of Greece. 60 per cent of China’s imports of raw materials and energy are carried on the backs of Greek ships. Greek ship owners want to capitalize and many have made orders to build ships in China which has caused the order books of the large manufacturers to bulge and many smaller players to join in the fray. . 2China’s effect on shipping demand In terms of shipping, China is a force to be reckoned with. Just 2 years after joining the WTO, China handled 48 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2003, an increase of 11 million TEUs the year before. This made the country the largest container shipping market for the first time with both Sh anghai and Shenzhen joining the mega-port league of over 10 million TEUs throughputs . On two of the most important container trades from Asia to North America and Europe, mainland China and Hong Kong corner 60 per cent of the market share. More recently, with an increasing portion of China’s imports of oil products coming from Latin America and West Africa, ton-miles demanded associated with this trade has increased. Referring back to the example of Australian iron ore, China’s high volumes mean that Chinese companies are sourcing for metals from further abroad such as Brazil. In addition, China has always been a net exporter of coal. However, in the last few years, China has become a net importer; this forces its neighbors to source for coal from further afield. All these factors serve to increase ton-miles demanded. It is important to note that though ton-miles demanded may increase, actual volume may remain unchanged. 5. 0Iran and the Strait of Hormuz The on-going tension between Israel, the United States of America (USA) and Iran over its suspected nuclear-weapons programme has brought about fluctuations in oil prices in recent times. Several factors have made this all the more pressing in the last few months. These include a weakening Bush administration, Iran’s continued uranium-enrichment programme, a lackluster Western diplomatic approach to handling the situation and Israel’s jitters have raised the idea of a possible war in the Middle-East. In retaliation to suggestions of a military strike, Iran has threatened to cut oil exports and close the Strait of Hormuz . This strait’s importance lies in that it is the only viable path for much of the oil from the gulf to reach the rest of the world. By comparison, the Suez and Panama Canals are passages that have alternative albeit costlier, routes. A horseshoe-shaped body of water that stretches between Iran and the northern tip of Oman, the Strait is the only passage in and out of the Gulf. Every day, around 50 tankers carry between 4 million and 17 million barrels of oil and oil products through the 180km-long strait – roughly 40 per cent of the world’s internationally traded supplies . If Iran were able to close this waterway by use of anti-ship missiles, only 3 million barrels would be able to be diverted via the Red Sea. Thus, oil and oil product shipment would be greatly hit worldwide. In addition to oil, Jebel Ali, a port-town in the United Arab Emir ates, handles about half of all maritime trade between Europe and Asia. Currently, it is the largest port between Rotterdam and Singapore. Large portions of what enters some of these free zones in the gulf are transshipped to other parts of the world. Experts who have monitored the Suez Crisis in the 1950s and how it led to the Six-Day War understand that such an action from Iran would result in the Middle-East suffering economically. On a larger scale, the world would be faced with supply cuts in almost all goods. 6. 0Maritime terrorism Another threat to the maritime industry is terrorism at sea. Terrorism is broadly defined as attacks to create fear and often have an underlying belief that the terrorists want to spread. Since the world-changing September 11th attacks on the United States of America in 2001, many other acts of violence have been carried out with ships as targets. An example would be the infamous Al-Qaeda attack on the French oil tanker, the Limburg, in Yemen in 2002. Such attacks create not only a sense of uncertainty in the shipping industry, but have raised the costs of shipping as well. In the case of the Limburg, the insurance payout reached US$70 million . This example highlights the trend of insurance companies charging higher insurance premiums to shipping companies whose ships sail through more ‘dangerous’ waters. As a result, shipping cost has risen over the years and this has led to a dip in demand. Amongst the main trunk routes that ships often ply, the greatest number of such incidents happens in the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. These acts of terror also do not differentiate between the types of ships they target; almost everything from boats to tankers has been looted for their cargo and entire ships stolen. This paper would like to caution that the distinction between maritime terrorism and piracy is blurring. 7. 0Conclusion This paper has looked at examples of how political events have caused a stir in the maritime world. This is largely a result of the correlation between world trade, shipping and movement of commodities. Such incidents can spark both a decrease as well as an increase in demand for shipping. In the case of China’s reforms towards a more open economy, trade between this country and the rest of the world has increased dramatically. This has spurred the shipping industry not just in terms of seaborne trade but in other forms such as ports and shipbuilding. Beyond its shores, it has helped to lift the economies of countries that enjoy a high level of trade with China. On the other hand, the tensions in the Middle-East have brought about uncertainty throughout the world over oil prices and world trade. The strategic position of the most hostile nations in the region has given them leverage over the Western world in terms of threats to block the major waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. Lastly, the concerns over maritime safety and rising insurance costs to cover ships and their owners have caused a dip in demand for shipping. This is because of the higher costs now associated with shipping; it is intuitive yet unfortunate that the world’s major shipping routes are also the most dangerous.