Analytical Essay Sample on “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin

Analytical Essay Sample on â€Å"The Awakening† by Kate Chopin Kate Chopins The Awakening, focuses on the revolt of the main character, Edna Pontellier, against her role and position in society. As Edna awakens to her body, her senses, and her role as a woman in late nineteenth century America, she begins to challenge societal laws and traditions. Not only does she neglect her obligations to friends and family, but also she ignores societys expectations of her as a woman of wealth and stature. Edna senses the forces that ultimately drive her to the sea after a disagreement with her husband, Leonce, early in the novel. When Leonce demands that Edna come in from outside to retire, Edna begins to understand that he regards her as an object of possession. Though Edna refuses to appease her husband an indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. Edna, however, does not yet realize she is awakening. A certain light [will begin] to dawn dimly within her,the light which, showing the way, forbids it. Madame Reiszs musical performance in Chapter 9 triggers Ednas first true awakening. Her intense physical reaction to the sound of the keys of the piano, including trembling, choking, and crying, are paralleled by the arousal of passion within Ednas soul. Chopin suggests that this was the first time [Edna] was ready, perhaps the first time her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding truth. Later this same evening, Edna soars beyond the limits fear imposes upon her in an attempt to capture a sense of independence as she swims far out into the sea alone. To Edna, the sea is the place where the individual is free from both the evils and the responsibilities of communal life. This perhaps explains the feeling of exultation and the sense of power to control the working of her body and soul that overtake Edna. While reflecting on her experience in the sea and Madame Reiszs music, Edna remarks, A thousand emotions have swept through me tonight. I dont comprehend half of them. . .I wonder if any night on earth will ever be like this one. From this point on, there is no turning back for Edna. Her awareness continues to grow until her final return to the sea. The newfound strength and individuality that learning to swim alone in the sea affords Edna enables her to release her sexual nature. Ednas friendship with Robert Lebrun takes on new meaning for her as she sits alone with him after her swim: No multitude of words could have been more significant than those moments of silence, or more pregnant with the first felt throbbings of desire. Perhaps it is more accurate to call this a romantic awakening than it is to call this a sexual awakening. It seems more appropriate to assume Edna is beginning to yearn for love and human connection with the opposite sex, not some lustful encounter, since she has not yet awakened to her physical self. As Edna sails to a neighboring island called Cheniere Caminada with Robert the next day, she identifies a sense of freedom within herselffreedom from the constraints her duties as a wife and mother impose upon her. Later this day Edna becomes aware of her body and its natural beauty after Robert compels her to rest at a friends house. Edna, left alone to sleep, removes most of her restrictive clothing and begins to closely observe her body. Though Ednas return to the Grand Isle is a return to domesticitywhich Edna, at this point, associates with burdening responsibility,she was seeing things with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment. Roberts move to Mexico in Chapter 15 forces Edna to recognize the symptoms of infatuation for the first time. Edna longs for Robert throughout his absence, but she lusts for another man when she returns to New Orleans at the end of the summer. Alcee Arobin pleased her at last, appealing to the animalism that stirred impatiently within her. This awakening to sexual desire is followed by an awakening to sexual fulfillment when Edna actually becomes physically involved with Alcee. The first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded, however, was not the kiss of love which had inflamed her, because it was not love which had held this cup of life to her lips. After months of Ednas anticipation Robert returns home from Mexico and the two are finally able to proclaim their love for one another. There was no human being whom [Edna] wanted near her except Robert; and she even realized that the day would come when he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of her existence, leaving her alone. Edna becomes convinced that human connection is not possible for her. As Ednas awakening progresses throughout the novel, she becomes increasingly aware of her solitude. The people she cares about, even Robert continually leave her alone. Edna comes to realize that her aloneness is a product of her desire for spiritual emancipation. She is not willing to sacrifice self-fulfillment in order to uphold the traditions and expectations of society. Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansionism as an individual. But Edna knows that complete control over her own life will only come through total relief from social commitments. Thus, she returns to the comforting touch of the sea that enfold[s] the body in it soft, close embrace. As Edna removes her clothing and enters the sea, she is reborn into a world free of constraints, the world she has longed to encounter throughout The Awakening a very prominent masterpiece written by Kate Chopin. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Kate Chopin at our online custom essay writing service which provides students with high-quality custom papers written by qualified academic writers. 100% plagiarism free and on-time delivery guarantee! Let our writers write a custom paper for you. Get professional essay help at an affordable cost.

Free Essays on Cohen Bros.

O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? If Ethan and Joel Cohen had been able to sit down and write the entire script for O’ Brother, Where Art Thou straight through I might consider it a great movie. The problem I run into is that the brothers started the script years ago, and when they found themselves stuck they simply took a break and wrote something else. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Cohen brothers other films, (the Big Lebowski might be the funniest movie ever!) but O’ Brother seems too familiar to be considered a great film. In this respect I agree with Roger Ebert’s review that the movie â€Å"contains sequences that are wonderful in themselves - lovely short films – but the movie never really shapes itself into a whole.† The Cohen brother’s made great strides in cinematography, but really missed the boat with O’ Brother. The cast is full of tremendous actors who have dazzled when working with the Cohens, but that’s precisely the problem. John Goodman has appeared in the Cohen’s Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski playing the same violently psychotic character he plays in O’ Brother. Goodman’s performance as Big Dan Teague is solid, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Vietnam vet Walter, the bungling, gun-totting lunatic who, despite his good intentions, is the bane of Jeff Lebowski’s (not Lebowski the â€Å"DUDE†) existence. Also Pappy O’Daniel, played by Charles Durning, plays essentially the same role he had in Big Lebowski, and also much more over the top as he turns in a Jackie Gleason/Sheriff Buford T. Justice performance. And for as many good performances as Holly Hunter has turned in, she is un-noteworthy as the estranged wife of our hero Everett Ulysses McGill. As for those who turned in respectable performances, George Clooney did his best work to date and really helped propel the film. His portrayal of Everett, a lovably quirky convict on the lame with, an insatiable need for Dapper Dan pomade, was ... Free Essays on Cohen Bros. Free Essays on Cohen Bros. O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? If Ethan and Joel Cohen had been able to sit down and write the entire script for O’ Brother, Where Art Thou straight through I might consider it a great movie. The problem I run into is that the brothers started the script years ago, and when they found themselves stuck they simply took a break and wrote something else. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Cohen brothers other films, (the Big Lebowski might be the funniest movie ever!) but O’ Brother seems too familiar to be considered a great film. In this respect I agree with Roger Ebert’s review that the movie â€Å"contains sequences that are wonderful in themselves - lovely short films – but the movie never really shapes itself into a whole.† The Cohen brother’s made great strides in cinematography, but really missed the boat with O’ Brother. The cast is full of tremendous actors who have dazzled when working with the Cohens, but that’s precisely the problem. John Goodman has appeared in the Cohen’s Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski playing the same violently psychotic character he plays in O’ Brother. Goodman’s performance as Big Dan Teague is solid, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Vietnam vet Walter, the bungling, gun-totting lunatic who, despite his good intentions, is the bane of Jeff Lebowski’s (not Lebowski the â€Å"DUDE†) existence. Also Pappy O’Daniel, played by Charles Durning, plays essentially the same role he had in Big Lebowski, and also much more over the top as he turns in a Jackie Gleason/Sheriff Buford T. Justice performance. And for as many good performances as Holly Hunter has turned in, she is un-noteworthy as the estranged wife of our hero Everett Ulysses McGill. As for those who turned in respectable performances, George Clooney did his best work to date and really helped propel the film. His portrayal of Everett, a lovably quirky convict on the lame with, an insatiable need for Dapper Dan pomade, was ...

Windows Server Deployment Proposal Rubric Paper Research - 1

Windows Server Deployment Rubric Paper - Research Proposal Example It is imperative to understand that successful deployment often starts with good planning, and it is often never too early to begin planning changes in the IT environment. Therefore, throughout the infrastructure, Windows Server 2012 will be used, the enterprise edition on the other hand will be leveraged on all the other serves, this is because of its capability of having 4 virtual licenses per Operating system. In order to increase reliability as well as the security the Server Core will be on all the servers. All servers as well as operating systems will be installed using image files that will be retrieved from a master computer through the Windows Deployment services (WDS) (Tulloch, 2012). The installation of the operating systems from the Windows Deployment services will help dramatically increase the time taken for installation. All the server roles will be distributed in an equal way and it will help take advantage of fault tolerance, availability, security as well as allocation. The foundation of these placing workstations as well as servers, this will help in the deploying of operating system image files which could be completed in a day wit h one or two with system administrators. In the deployment of the Windows server, a hybrid DHCP infrastructure will be used with different relay agents. This will help save on the expenditure as well as the administrators time. Further, there will be also the maintenance of the main as well as backup DHCP at the office as well as several relay agents at the branch office. This will undoubtedly free traffic from the WAN link that exists between them. In order to further prevent the excessive network traffic at each site, there is a need to implement an automatic allocation of IP addresses. There often exists a solid network layout that often has large subnets which allows each department to grow exponentially (Stanek, 2012). The fault tolerance that will be used for the

English writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

English writing - Essay Example Among the biggest differences between China and America are their cultural values and these have been cultivated over a long period. China is an extremely conservative nation with most of the cultural practices of its people being influenced to a certain degree by the teachings of the philosopher Confucius. This influence has been paramount in China for over two millennia and has guided the Chinese nation throughout all its incarnations. The culture of the United States, on the other hand, is very liberal with individuals living their lives as they see fit, making Americans very independent people from a young age. Moreover, Chinese culture dictates that younger people be subservient and submissive towards their elders, obeying them without question. Young Chinese people tend to be obliged to take care of their elders until the latter die and in most cases, elderly Chinese are very revered in the society. This is not necessarily the case in America where younger people tend to live t heir own lives without any consideration to the wishes of their elders (Weston). The elderly people in America tend to be highly independent and often live by themselves; going into homes for the elderly when they can no longer take care of themselves rather than living with their children. Another difference that arises between America and China is on their systems of education, which are in many ways managed diversely. The Chinese system of education tends to be slightly more difficult than that of America because students have to undergo a rigorous system of examinations almost at every level of their education to ensure that they are competent enough to proceed to the next level. The American system, on the other hand, is less rigorous with the number of people whose performance in school is below average being extremely high. In China, parents tend to be very involved in

New Zealand Services to Support the Elderly

New Zealand Services to Support the Elderly Abstract Elderly care is a steady industry in New Zealand. It is one of the most stable industries in New Zealand because the New Zealand population is an old population. In light of this attempts to improve the geriatric care standards in New Zealand should always be a priority. Present services and healthcare organizations should always be reviewed and accredited to make sure that they are qualified and their services are not obsolete or redundant. Introduction There are different organizations which provide services to the elderly in New Zealand. We should take the time to know these organizations because since most of us work in a healthcare setting with a lot of geriatric clients, we should know the services that are made available to them. We should always provide accurate and useful information about the elderly care system in New Zealand because there are still a number of misconceptions about it. Question 1 a.) Age Concern NZ Age Concern NZ has 6 main services, and I will discuss three of the services. The first service is about eliminating the feeling of loneliness in elderly people. The purpose of this service is because most elderly people feel that they are neglected and abandoned by their families or the society. The effects of loneliness can have negative repercussions on the mental and physical health of elderly clients. They may often feel left out because they can no longer keep up with the fast paced world that we live in. Age Concern NZ is offering a service which includes visiting elderly clients and spending time with them. This can be a learning experience which can greatly benefit both the client and the volunteer. The client will no longer feel lonely and will somehow be alleviated from their feelings of isolation from the society. The volunteer will be able to learn and correct about some of the misconceptions that society has about the effects of aging, and will greatly make a positive i mpact on the elderly clients they are visiting. The second service that they offer is about Elderly Abuse. The elderly are especially susceptible to being victims of abuse because usually they are no longer at the peak of their physical and mental health, which is interpreted by others as a sign that they can abuse an elderly person and get away with it. What some people tend to forget is that elderly people still deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I believe that elderly clients should always have a say in what they want and they should be given choices rather than other people deciding what is best for them, unless they are no longer able to decide what may or may not be good for them, or if they may inflict harm to themselves and to others if left to their own means. Some elderly people are also victims of exploitation because most of these people are looking for someone to help them care for themselves. There may be some people who are only showing love and support to these clients because they know that they can g et something from them in return or because they can manipulate their decisions. The company offers support to the people going through any form of elderly abuse and they educate people who work with elderly clients and their families about the different types of abuse and their warning signs. The third service is about the wellbeing of the elderly clients. If the clients are happy, have healthy relationships there is less risk for depression. Depression can be avoided even in the later years of life by promoting the wellbeing and happiness of the client. One way of promoting the happiness of a client is allowing him or her to continue doing his or her hobbies if it is still safe for him or her to do so. It minimizes the negative effects of aging and can make the client feel uplifted and empowered. We can also introduce new activities to emphasize the fact that we are never too old to try new experiences. b.) GreyPower GreyPower provides superannuation or what is more commonly known as pension. They try to provide a better level of pension to people aged 50 and above. They argue that what the pensioners are currently getting is not enough for them to live a relatively comfortable life in their old age. They are forced to make some compromises to their standards of living. One of the main problems that they are trying to solve is that when the prices of commodities go up, the pension stays the same. It does not adjust to the economy. What some of the people at GreyPower are trying to do is to lobby for the increase of pension as the costs of living in New Zealand also increase. They primarily focus on providing the adequate health needs of each pensioner and help them in being able to pay their electricity bills. c.) SuperGold Card The SuperGold Card is given to seniors and it gives the card holder certain discounts from different businesses, free public transportation, and free services from the local government. Residents who are 65 and above are eligible to avail the SuperGold Card. They can use the public transport system for free after the peak hours, which is an extremely useful benefit because public transport in New Zealand can be very expensive especially when you have to take 2 or more buses to get to where you want to go. They can also avail of discounts on petrol prices and when buying gadgets at certain electronics stores in New Zealand. I don’t know about you but this card makes me want to grow old! d.) Seniorline Seniorline promotes â€Å"Positive Ageing† and it is all about giving more attention to the elderly and still appreciating what they can do for our society. I will liken the elderly to the predators of the ecosystem. Most of us think they are nuances and dangerous but without them, there will be imbalances in nature. It’s the same with the elderly. They may seem like they have no use at all except for bothering us but they are excellent sources of wisdom and advice, and they are able to help us more than we think. e.) Global Action on Aging The Global Action on Aging does not offer any concrete services but they do one of the most important jobs towards the advancement of elderly rights and care, which is advocacy. They advocate for the rights of the elderly and in doing so, help prevent theft, abuse, and neglect of the elderly. Question 2 1.) Hospitals Hospitalization is the last resort for elderly patients because this means that there are complications with regards to the client’s health which cannot be handled at the rest home or the out-patient level. It is a risky place to be in as an elderly patient because aside from the reason for their hospitalization, there is a risk of nosocomial infection, which is an infection acquired in the hospital. Since elderly patients are at a higher risk of acquiring infections because of their decreased immunity, we should safeguard against these risks meticulously. The benefits of the elderly patient staying in hospital care are that the staff and are trained for any possibility or situation that may arise and they are equipped to respond to these situations, and it is easy to refer them to another department if it is needed. Another benefit is that if they experience a medical emergency, they do not need to be transported anymore to a facility which can cater to them because they are already in the hospital. They are also at less risk for falls because hospitals usually assign a watcher if a patient has an elevated risk for falls (confusion, disorientation, etc.) and the hospitals beds usually have side rails installed. The most important advantage that the hospital has is that it can assess the risks associated with a patient and in theory, they can prevent these risks from happening instead of having a client stay at his or her home, where most risks are not identified. These interventions can prolong the length of the life of the individual and elevate the standards of living that the patients enjoy and give the relatives of these patients some peace of mind knowing that most of the probable emergencies and scenarios are being prevented. 2.) Respite care Respite care is usually given during a stay in the hospital to take the pressure off the usual caregiver. It is usually a short-term arrangement and lasts about less than a month per year. It can be done in the hospital which is advantageous because the patient does not need to be transferred anymore and will save the patient time, money, and the energy which is required when moving from one healthcare facility to another. It can also be done at the home of the patient and an agency will provide care for the patient, which is also has its advantages one of which is that the patient will return to a familiar environment and may feel more relaxed during his stay at home. The potential disadvantage of this is that when a medical emergency occurs, the patients has to be taken back again to the hospital in short notice and the process may give unnecessary stress to the patient. 3.) Nursing homes Nursing homes are very popular here in New Zealand and are heavily subsidized by the government. Based on what I’ve heard from my friends and classmates, the elderly clients living in a nursing home are very relaxed and are well taken care of. They eat at the right time, have people to talk to, and it decreases the chance of them feeling alone and isolated. They are checked-up by a physician before being admitted to a nursing home because each client is unique and they need to find out what medications they need and the additional care that they may require. The staff working at nursing homes is also trained to deal with geriatric clients. These healthcare facilities also retain most of their staff and has a low rate of staff turnover to ensure that the continuity of care is established and maintained so that the patients will have less adjustment every time that there is a new staff member in the facility. 4.) Domiciliary Care In Domiciliary care, the patient is living in his own home but he is still being assisted by support workers in doing activities of daily living, which includes assisting with the personal care of the client, and accompanying the client in going to appointments, and helping the client in preparing meal. The family of the client should always be involved in planning his care because they are the ones who know the client the best and would know what he would want in a certain situation and they can then pass these information to the support worker assigned to the client. 5.) Pharmacists Pharmacists are essential since they educate the client in knowing what drugs to take and their indications, contraindications, side effects, and adverse effects. They also educate the client in knowing the different drug interactions so that they know if drugs are safe to take together and if they should take the drugs with meals or without. They also teach the client how to take the drugs when there is a special indication (sublingual, inhaler, etc.) needed to take the drug. They also educate the client in what they can’t and can do with the drugs, like splitting a tablet into two, and giving the client a complete printout of the schedule of the drugs. 6.) End of Life Support The client can choose where he wants to stay during the last days of his life. Whether it is in a nursing home, a hospital, or at home, the client deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. There is a type of care which we call palliative care. This type of care alleviates the symptoms of a certain client. For example, if the client is suffering from colon cancer and he suddenly obtains a cough or a flu, then the treatment of that cough or flu is part of the palliative care of that client. It is about maintaining the â€Å"quality of life† of the patient. Question 3 Social Isolation of the individual and their families Most of the elderly clients feel isolated from the community because most people don’t want anything to do with them due to the misconception that most people who are retired or over the age of 65 are fragile and weak people who will only be liabilities and not assets. This can lead to depression of the elder because he or she feels disconnected to the society and he or she may feel unwelcome by the world or the community that they grew up in. the family may feel that they are isolated because of the elderly patient who is with them and this pressure from society makes them disassociate themselves with the elder in their care, and in turn will make the individual more isolated. Assumption of automatic loss of independence Out of all the stigmas related to geriatric care, I think this is the one stigma that has the most impact on how individuals, families, and society as a whole view caring for the elderly. This has the most negative effect on how geriatric care is viewed because most people are unwilling to care for a fully dependent patient, not knowing that the patient can still perform activities of daily living. Family members and healthcare providers should try to help the patient maintain their skills for them not to be fully dependent on the people who are taking care of them. Unable to make decisions about own care One of the worst stigmas that elderly clients have to undergo is that there is the misconception that they can no longer decide for themselves and that they are merely living out the rest of their days. They are fully capable of making their own informed decisions about how healthcare professionals should handle their care plan and they should always have a say in their plan of care. Dissatisfying interactions with the medical community Unfortunately, this is a recurring problem in most medical fields not only in geriatrics. Sometimes members of the healthcare community do not have or do not take the time in talking to the clients and most will not explain properly to the patient what they are experiencing and what their options to treatment are and only expect other healthcare professionals to do it. This makes the patient confused and doubtful of how the medical community is treating him or her. This may lead to loss of established rapport between the healthcare providers and the patient because a healthcare professional did not have a few minutes to spare to talk to the client and reassure the client properly that the healthcare team will make sure that the client is comfortable and that the team will properly carry out all medical procedures with care and the client will be treated with dignity and respect at all times. Uncertainty of support services and treatments Due to the lack of time of some of the medical professionals in explaining treatment options and services to the patients, the client is now unsure of what will happen to him or what his plan of care is. The patient is kept in the dark about how his care will be handled by those assigned to take care of him. This is a fundamental flaw in providing care because the client should always be included in planning his care because he knows best what he wants and he should always be given choices on whether he wants a certain service or treatment and he should be given the right to decline the treatment or the service if he so chooses. Conclusion There are a lot of healthcare organizations in New Zealand that provide useful services to the elderly clients. Most of them are advocates of the elderly and prevent abuse and isolation. Some of them offer monetary benefits, discounts, and even free fare when using the public transport system. All are very useful especially because elderly clients usually only get their money from their pension. There are also a variety of healthcare facilities to choose from when choosing where the best place to receive care is. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages and it is up to the individual, his family, and his healthcare provider to determine which facility will be the best for the needs of the client. Recommendation As person with experience working with geriatric clients, I recommend that the general public be properly educated about geriatric care. I believe that with proper education, we can eradicate most of the misconceptions surrounding geriatric care. I also recommend that we look into the current services provided to the elderly people here in New Zealand and find ways to improve on them. We can start by doing a survey of people ages 65 and above as to what they feel is needed so that we can get a better insight about their priorities and what services and benefits they want. Bibliography GreyPower. GreyPower History. (2008-2014) Retrieved from http://greypower.wpengine.com/history/ Age Concern. Accredited Visiting Service. Retrieved from http://www.ageconcern.org.nz/ACNZPublic/Home/Loneliness/ACNZ_Public/Loneliness_and_Social_Isolation.aspx Age Concern. Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.ageconcern.org.nz/ACNZPublic/Services/EANP/ACNZ_Public/Elder_Abuse_and_Neglect.aspx Age Concern. Wellbeing, Health and happiness. Retrieved from http://www.ageconcern.org.nz/ACNZPublic/Information/Wellbeing/ACNZ_Public/Wellbeing.aspx SuperGold. Retrieved from http://www.supergold.govt.nz/ Global Action on Aging. Elder Rights. (2004) Retrieved from http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/index.htm Seniorline. Positive Ageing. Retrieved from http://www.adhb.govt.nz/SeniorLine/PositiveAgeing/Positive%20Ageing.htm Merck Sharp Dohme Corp. The Merck Manual, Respite Care. (2010-2014) Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/provision_of_care_to_the_elderly/respite_care.html Merck Sharp Dohme Corp. The Merck Manual, Hospital Care and the Elderly. (2010-2014) Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/provision_of_care_to_the_elderly/hospital_care_and_the_elderly.html Merck Sharp Dohme Corp. The Merck Manual, Skilled Nursing Facilities. (2010-2014) Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/provision_of_care_to_the_elderly/skilled_nursing_facilities.html Merck Sharp Dohme Corp. The Merck Manual, Assisted Living Programs. (2010-2014) Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/provision_of_care_to_the_elderly/assisted-living_programs.html Merck Sharp Dohme Corp. The Merck Manual, Pharmacists and the Elderly. (2010-2014) Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/provision_of_care_to_the_elderly/pharmacists_and_the_elderly.html National Institute on Aging. End of Life: Helping with Comfort and Care. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/end-life-helping-comfort-and-care/finding-care-end-life

Business Studies Easter Project Essay

Introductinon As you probably already know Asda is one of the leading food superstores in Britain today. Asda is part of the Wal-Mart group however before this Asda was on its own. Asda has been part of the Wal-Mart retailers since 1999. Asda was formed in 1965 by a group of farmers from Yorkshire, today Asda has 245 stores, with 19 depots across the U.K. Asda’s aim is to sell its products 10-15% cheaper than its main competitors. Asda sells a variety of products including fresh food, grocery, clothing, home, leisure and entertainment goods. In my report I have gained my information form the Asda website and I also interviewed the store manager of the Asda store in Longsight. In my report I will discuss the following performance indicators: Labour Turnover, Labour Productivity, Absenteeism and the Morale of workers. Performance of Company Asda has recently been valued at being worth à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.3 billion, which includes all its assets. Anyway I think that it will be too complicated to discuss the performance indicators on such a large scale. This is why I am going to just concentrate on the performance of the Asda store in Longsight. When I asked Sue (the manager) if labour turnover was high, she replied by saying that it is an average level. (i.e. not too high and not too low). I then said to her that this must mean that staff must feel demotivated and therefore leave. She replied by saying that it was because they employed a lot of young students and this was the reason for a lot of people leaving because they couldn’t fit the shifts in with their work. I believe that this means that although labour turnover is high, it is not an extremely bad point. When we discussed the labour productivity of the workers, she said that the staff, work very hard in every department whether it is the deliveries, clothing, music or work on the checkout. Many products were sold in each department but obviously some were sold much more than others. The labour productivity really determines how many products are sold, as items are obviously not being produced at the store they are being sold there. She also mentioned that everyday there are at least 2 people who are around the store to just help customers or provide tasters of foods. I believe that this helps to increase productivity, because customers may feel more welcome and more sales may be made. I then asked what the turnover of the store was each day. Sue replied by saying that on the weekends they generally make more money and she said that last Saturday they had a turnover of approximately à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000. I believe that this clearly shows that labour productivity is high at the Asda store in Longsight. I then went on to talk about absenteeism. Sue said that this was generally low without any notice, and that there were hardly any people who didn’t give notice when they were going to have a day off. But she also said that absenteeism was a good point because it gives workers a change because they can swap shifts with one another. I agree and believe absenteeism with notice is not so bad. Sue said the the morale of workers was generally high. She said that staff were paid at a time rate starting from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4.15 per hour. The following incentives could be motivating factors for the staff at Asda: Tell the team- putting your ideas across Stars- can be cashed in for gifts. ABCD- A certificate for dedicated workers. Bonus payments- for reaching certain targets Share plan Private Healthcare Discount on new cars Travel insurance Staff Discount Card I believe that the following incentives will make workers feel motivated. This is because it makes the workers feel that they are being recognised and that there work is appreciated. It is not only the financial incentives that are important for motivation. It is also for example the certificate for working hard which could motivate. And even the fact that workers can put their ideas across, which may make them feel a real part of the company. There are some improvements that could be made to the performance indicators. Firstly as we know labour turnover at the Longsight store is at an average level as many workers are students. We can solve this problem by allowing the shifts to fit in with the workers education, by offering them certain shifts. And then there is the labour productivity which is already very high, so I believe that this should just be kept at a constant level. And workers should just continue with the good work. Absenteeism is a problem when the workers don’t come into work without any notice. To solve this problem I believe that managers should phone up absent workers to see where they are. And if they persist in not coming into work then this must mean that they feel demotivated, so managers should try to find out what the problem is. I know that the incentives that Asda offers are very good, but I generally believe that managers should talk to their staff a little more and just give them general assurance that they are doing the job in the right way and to show that their work is appreciated. Conclusion I believe that as Asda is worth over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.3 billion this must mean that they are not going too wrong. And another fact that shows that Asda is doing well is that it was voted the best company to work for in the year 2000 by the Times Newspaper. And in 2001 it was also voted supermarket of the year.

Which Has Exerted a Bigger Effect on War: the End of the Cold War, or Globalization?

Back in human history, there could be found more than 14, 400 records of wars that have occurred in the past, by taking the lives of billions and affecting the social and political order worldwide. Wars in the contemporary world have gradually been changing in form, mainly due to globalization, by overlapping in different spheres of brutal conflicts and small but extremely dangerous organizations like terrorism and insurgencies. Nevertheless, their true nature and intentions have managed to preserve through ages, as a general norm of social behavior, involving extreme violence, desire for power and manipulation, as well as conflicts established on the basis of religious or ethnic issues. In addition, the end of the cold war had a great impact on the global socio-political picture by establishing a completely new image of international relations, forms of external associations and a strong push for a military affair progress.Could Cold War Have Been Avoided? To understand the nature of war, its influence on current affairs, as well as the impact of globalization on war matters, I would first provide a general definition of â€Å"war†, by presenting some theoretical approaches. Eventually I would concentrate on the impact of the post-cold period and finally, conclude with the affect of globalization. War and theoretical approaches: Scholars have always provided quite contradictory definitions for a â€Å"war†. Indeed defining â€Å"war† could be a complicated task. This is due to the fact that even if the nature of a war remains constant, it always reflects the particular time and place in which it occurs. In other words, the current time, situation, the initial core of the problem, as well as, the level of violence and particular actors would greatly influence and define the type of conflict. Thus, establishing a general idea of a ‘war’ might end to be quite inaccurate. Nevertheless, I would try to present the main general definitions, based on different theoretical approaches. Quincy Wright, for xample, describes war as a â€Å"conflict among political groups, especially sovereign states, carried on by armed forces of considerable magnitude, for a considerable period of time†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 213) Judging by his statement, we could conclude that it’s a realist approach, emphasizing on the power of the state and the highest level of sovereignty that possesses. Another approach of defining war is the definition of Hedly Bulls claiming that war is an â€Å"organized violence, carried by political units against each other†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 14) This definition could be accepted as inappropriate because not every single action of violence is defined as a war. In addition, war could involve and other internal actors except political ones like citizens for example (religious, racial conflicts). A third approach by Clausewitz explains war as â€Å"an act of force intended to compel our opponents to fulfill our will†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 214) This definition is more liberal based as it stresses more on the power and affect of globalization than on the state sovereignty. Even though all of these definitions seem to differ in terms of theory, we could generalize some common characteristics between them, which are organized violence, state or non-state actors, as well as military force and manipulation. To get a better understanding on the definitions, the change of warfare, as well as the impact of globalization and post-cold war period, I would like to summarize and stress on two well known theories: Realism and Liberalism. Realism, first of all, stresses on the power of the state and its sovereignty, representing it as the main actor on the world stage. It also expresses world politics as a ‘self-help system’ and a ‘struggle for power’ between states (Baylis, 2008, p. 5), trying to dominate and maximize their national interests. In addition, globalization is not important and does not affect political world. Liberalism, on the contrary, emphasizes on the effectiveness of democracy, underlying that states are not the only main actors. Transnational actors, international corporations and organizations (like terrorism) are also playing a key role in defining warfare and its evolving. Also, liberalists admit the importance of globalization, economic and environmental issues. Considering the current international affairs, as well as the decline power of state actors, we could assume that the Liberal theory quite successfully matches with the recent socio-political events. Thus, I would further analyze the change of warfare from the perspectives of the Liberal approach. Post-cold war period: The fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, resulting in the end of the Cold War, put a new evolution in the structure of the international relations and the international system. That indeed brought some influential domestic attributes like democracy system in some post-communist states. In addition, the number of wars sharply declined but not and their crucial brutality. A lot of ex-Soviet Union members, as well as some eastern European countries like former Yugoslavia experienced tremendous crisis. Many states disintegrated, which led to bloody civil wars and insurgencies. Another great factor was the new system of democracy that former communist states had to accept. Some states indeed benefited from that but for others that turned out to be a vast and sudden change resulting in more economic crisis and chaos in the population. In addition, this led to the active participation of world organizations like the United Nations, as well as NATO and EU in preserving the peace and avoiding any brutal conflicts that could follow. Such intervention and anti-conflict actions influenced not only the warfare but human morals, as well. People’s understanding of politics, economics became more globally based, not just state-isolated. A state problem eventually turned out to be a global problem, like the war in former Yugoslavia, 9/11 and the current affairs in Egypt. The post-cold war period gave the first strong push of a massive globalization. Indeed, globalization has always existed in human history and has always been an inevitable process; nevertheless no one has particularly mentioned it before the end of the Cold War. Another great change that affected the warfare was the absolute hegemony power that the USA gained. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the international system changed from a phase of ‘bipolarity’ into a phase of ‘unipolarity’. Thus, USA’s global influence speeded up even more the going on process of globalization, turning it in to â€Å"Americanization†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 13)USA was surely outstanding in terms of military power and technical innovations; nevertheless it did nothing to prevent the up-coming events of organized violence and particularly terrorism. A good example is the 9/11 event and the Iraq War in 2003. Even though USA had a magnificent superiority in terms of weaponry, technical and communication technology, the responding asymmetric attacks that followed, as well as the terroristic actions in London and Madrid proved the dramatic changes that have occurred in terms of warfare. Globalization: The revolution in military affairs that followed in the 1991, right after Gulf War, built a new image and form of the contemporary warfare. With the vast development of technology, communication, Internet and media, war was eventually converted into a new form of a war conflict, unfamiliar for the old Westphalian Order ideas. The primary Westphalian characteristics of a territoriality, fixed boarders, self-determination and states as only key-actors completely contradict with the contemporary current global affairs. And indeed, Globalization is more than just interconnectedness. It involves much more than cooperation and international relations between states. It eventually dissolves the state boarders, turning the world into a â€Å"shared social space†, (Baylis, 2008, p. 18) as well as, placing the economical and political activities into a completely new transnational global scale. Another important factor of globalization is the â€Å"time-space compression†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 18) Nowadays, any power or military actions could be exercised from a distance and fulfilled for a relatively short period of time. Globalization has broken any possible barriers involving distance, space or time with the help of Internet, communication and media. These factors have resulted in an entire new generation of warfare. In such a new era of innovation and high technology, new non-state actors have managed to transform both cyber place and media into a real battlefield. From one hand, this has led to the creation of highly effective and complex weaponry machinery, ensuring better protection and momentum responds to military actions. On the contrary though, that also leads to terrorism, organized crimes, violence as well as, weapons of mass destruction. With the ability of producing and exporting such powerful technology, the safety of humans and the brutality of contemporary warfare are surely not on the way of declining. Another negative consequence of globalization results in the different economical level of the world countries and the continuous growing gap between them. Indeed globalization is useful and helpful for powers like Japan, USA and Russia but other countries like Sierra Leone or Eritrea definitely lack the benefits of globalization. This creates poverty, eventually crisis, which could lead to civil wars and more bloody violence. In the past decade, 95% of the armed conflicts have occurred within states rather than between them. Such new wars take place in states where the economy is extremely poor or even collapsing. Conclusion: Many of the characteristics of warfare mentioned above are not new features of war conflicts. They have been existing for a long time since early human history. That includes religious or ethnic confrontations, or any other kind of conflicts performed with extreme brutality. What really empowered the contemporary warfare and made it so massively destructive is globalization. It is the human ability and necessity to protect or manipulate, to defend themselves or just to apply control over a state of civilians. It is hard yet to predict what other crucial impacts globalization would have on humanity and eventually on warfare. Whatever the reason though, wars would never stop to exist and they would be always a human norm of a social behavior, that would adopt according to the current environment and current period of time. References: Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (eds.) (2008). The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, Oxford: Oxford University Press (4th ed.) Boyer, P. (2001). The Oxford Companion to United States History. Post–Cold War Era. Retrieved January 29, 2011 from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-PostColdWarEra.html Encyclopedia of the new American Nation. Cultural Relations and Policies – Globalization and the cold war. Retrieved January 29, 2011 from: