Meiji Period Essay Example for Free

Meiji Period Essay Meiji means ‘the enlightened rule’ in Japanese. In Japan the period from 1868 to 1912 is called ‘Meiji Era’?. (Meiji Period). The name Meiji was chosen by the young prince Mutsuhito, when he succeeded his father to the throne. During this period Japan emerged as a world political and economic power. Japan underwent a surprising progress from medieval society to important and primary military power and economic power in Asia. During the Meiji period the emperor was only fifteen years old but he was fortunate to have a group of excellent advisors who brought amalgamation of eastern and western cultures. They adapted western ideas while retaining the importance of the east. During this period the government made all efforts to build up its military strength and progress economic status. The samurai warriors were the traditional military system in Japan. The samurai system was replaced by the essential military service. The army was trained by the Prussian and French instructors. In two major wars that is in Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95 against china and Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 against Russia, the Japanese army proved its superiority. Japan has emerged as the strong new power in Asia after these two wars. The Government gave importance to the ideas and interests of farmers, samurai, merchants and former feudal estate owners. Foreign experts were employed in the fields of defense, industry, agriculture and transportation and their methods and practices were cautiously considered and adopted. Political and social reforms were given much importance during this period. Some of the reforms include declaration of religious freedom in 1873; the lunar calendar which was considered most important by the Japanese society was replaced by Gregorian calendar, introduction of the taxation system, freedom of trade, and freedom of land acquisition and in 1890 first elections was held for DIET. Along with this education was also given utmost importance and was made compulsory. The attendance at schools stood at ninety-eight percent by the end of the Meiji period. The Meiji era was a phase of strong emotions and radical reforms. The government intended to build Japan as a democratic country. Many of the Japanese scholars were sent to western countries to study languages and western science to improve the agrarian economy of Tokugawa Japan in to developed industrial sector. By means of huge governmental investments, the communication networks and transportation were developed. The first telegraph line was established between Yokahoma and Tokyo in 1869, a horse-drawn tramway system was introduced, national postal service was introduced in 1871the first steel bridge known as Azuma steel bridge was opened, in 1872, Meiji emperor opened the first train connection between Tokyo and Yokahoma. The powerful and large businesses in Japan known as zaibatsu were supported by the government to develop and support the industries and businesses. The period in 1880’s also led to financial crisis due to huge expenditures which led to the reform in the currency system and establishment of the Bank of Japan. The textile industry became the largest industry and grew faster in Japan until World War II. In 1889 Japan established its first European style constitution. The emperor was top of the navy, executive, army and legislative power. During the Meiji period, Japan emerged as a major power and a developed country. Japan was changed totally by the western stone buildings which include deparment stores, banks and government sites. The Meiji period led to the economic boom and standard military power. REFERENCES: 1. Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japan cultural profile, October 5, 2006. http://www. culturalprofiles. net/japan/Directories/Japan_Cultural_Profile/-13234. html

How employee wellbeing can become a core value

How employee wellbeing can become a core value Leadership is the ability to effectively use strategic competencies and influence to accomplish organizational goals. It is a partnership between mangers followers and external constituencies and one of the main differences between leaders and managers is power and authority. Leaders yield power which cannot be transferred however managers yield authority due to their position and can be delegated. When organizational requires a fast changing as a result of rapid fluctuation a Transformational leader is called for. Transformational leadership is defined as a relationship between a leader and follower(s) based on a set of leader behaviors perceived by subordinates as exhibiting idealized influence, motivational inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. In todays modern complex organizations, which are going through constant change, it required the roles of management and leadership be intertwined. An organisation that has an environment which promotes a state of contentment allowing employees to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and the organisation can be considered as employers who puts high emphasis on their employee wellbeing. The concept of wellbeing includes concepts of psychological and physical health. Today increasingly companies are focused more about their employees wellbeing as organisations are seeing its benefits. Organisations such as IBM, established Well-Being Management System (WBMS), the companys holistic approach to managing the health and safety of employees wherever they work. This enables physical and psychological fitness of its employees. When employee wellbeing becomes a shared organisational value deeply rooted in the organisational culture it is evident from the following companies that productivity of the organisations increases as a result of high moral and satisfaction as well as organisations are able to retain their talents. Values influence attitudes and behaviour therefore for transformational leaders to create employee wellbeing as a shared value they need to create trust between leader and employees. This is possible when the leader practice high emotional and social intelligence and honour the psychological contract between the management and employees. Contents Executive Summary 1 Today increasingly companies are focused more about their employees wellbeing as organisations are seeing its benefits. Organisations such as IBM, established Well-Being Management System (WBMS), the companys holistic approach to managing the health and safety of employees wherever they work. This enables physical and psychological fitness of its employees. 2 Contents 3 1.0 INTRODUCTION 4 8.0 CONCLUSION 16 7.0 Appendix 17 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report presents discussions on how employee wellbeing can become a core value shared among the employees of an organization that can be deeply rooted in the organizational culture and the role of transformational leadership in facilitating this change. Transformational leaders are called for when traditional leadership fails to bring about a change aligning the organizational culture to the changes in the environment. As these form of leadership focus on employees in achieving their goal it suits well in an era of fast globalization. In the second part of the report concepts of leadership and their difference from management will be introduced .as well as an explanation of transformational leadership and what it is all about. Third part of the report explains the concept employee wellbeing and its benefits. Companies who are initiating employee wellbeing and the response will be highlighted. The main part of the report will discuss how transformational leadership help facilitate employee wellbeing in the organizational culture that would eventually improve performance. Concepts of how leaders create trusts among employees and towards themselves, how leaders practice emotional and social intelligence and the concepts of psychological contract will be discussed. Finally case evidence will be provided when employees wellbeing is taken care off their performance in terms of absenteeism etc will rise significantly. 1.2 Scope and limitation The scope of the report is limited to the examination of how employee wellbeing can become the cultural norm within the organization and how transformational leadership facilitates in embedding it to the organizational culture as a shared core value. Little robust research exists on the relationship between health and individual job performance. 2.0 leadership Leadership defined by Weiss (2001, p.194) states that it is the ability to effectively use strategic competencies and influence to accomplish organizational goals. It is a partnership between mangers followers and external constituencies and one of the main differences between leaders and managers is power and authority. Leaders yield power which cannot be transferred however managers yield authority due to their position and can be delegated. (Mullins 2002). Whetten et.al (1995, p. 17) states that traditional definition of management is outmoded and irrelevant today. Their argument is based on the similarity between leaders and managers in terms of how they function. And that a good manager functions as an effective leader .a similar view was held by Hodgetts (1990, p.3) and defines management as getting things done through people and leadership influence people towards particular goal. Weiss(2001) referencing Bass (1985,1990 )states that when organizational requires a fast changing as a result of rapid fluctuation a transformational leader is called for. Transformational leadership exhibits behaviors such as idealized influence, motivational inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. And can be defined as a relationship between a leader and a follower based on this behavior (Flood 2008) A number of studies have shown a strong positive relationship between this leadership style and desirable outcomes including organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and decreased employee turnover intentions (Flood 2008) As an example of the magnitude of leadership influence on the attitudes and behaviors of employees, a study of 25,000 workers across a variety of firms by Wilson Learning, a US based management training company; found that 69% of employees job satisfaction related to the leadership skills of their bosses (Davids 1995). A significant productivity lag was associated with a lack of or poor leadership. On the basis of this finding, Davids (1995) asserts that the days of the heroic leader who gets things done by people are numbered, to be replaced by the post-heroic leaders who get things done with people. Hence, mutual understanding, trust and strong communication skills have been growing in importance as factors in the leader follower relationship.(Flood, 2008) 3.0EMPLOYEE WELLBEING An organisation that has an environment which promotes a state of contentment allowing employees to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and the organisation can be considered as employers who puts high emphasis on their employee wellbeing.(Tehrani et.al 2010) The concept of wellbeing includes concepts of psychological and physical health. According Arnold (2007) they can be distinguished between subjective and psychological wellbeing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Subjective wellbeing focuses on the affective (hedonic balance; balance between pleasant and unpleasant affect) and cognitive (life satisfaction) components of well-being (Arnold et.al 2007). Psychological well-being draws on various conceptualizations of mental health (Arnold et.al 2007).Tehrani et .al (2010) described wellbeing as a subjective experience that may involve practical measures such as introducing healthy food or a gym at work, or perhaps less tangible initiatives such as working to match the values and beliefs held by employees with those of their organization. It could be argued that a change in the way employees are engaged in discussions about how their work is organized could have more of an impact on an individuals well-being than the introduction of a corporate gym. Today increasingly companies are focused about their employees wellbeing as organisations are seeing its benefits .Organisations such as IBM, established Well-Being Management System (WBMS) the companys holistic approach to managing the health and safety of employees wherever they work. This enables physical and psychological fitness of its employees. This integrated approach to employee well being ranges from the more traditional aspects of occupational health and safety ,such as industrial hygiene, safety, medical issues and ergonomics-to innovative and proactive wellness initiatives, including a broad array of health promotion options and disease prevention benefits for employees.(IBM , 2010 ) Marks Spencer is known as an employer who values employees. Historically, well-being was delivered through a traditional benefits package, including flexible working and family-friendly policies. In addition, a good physical working environment was provided, including good catering facilities. Other ancillary benefits for some or all employees included hairdressing, chiropody, dentistry and holistic services. As the business moved through a change management program it was realized that more focus was needed on the health and well-being areas that were directly affected by the workplace. (Tehrani et.al 2010) Scota Chropractc Ltd is another company that focused on employee wellbeing . Established in 1986 and currently employs 17 employees working across two sites the growing public awareness of alternative and complementary therapies has been a major driver of business growth. The company works with the NHS and has recently branched out into sports therapy, rehabilitation and ergonomic-based heath and safety interventions. The organization has increasingly concentrated on employee well-being for its own staff during the past five years. (Tehrani et.al 2010) 3.1 Employee wellbeing and culture. Organisational Culture is defined as a set of shared values beliefs which interact with an organisations people ,structureand system to produce behavioural norms. in a strong organisational culture the organisation core values are both intensly held and widely shared. core values are the primary or dominant values that are accepted thoughout the organisation.the more members who accept the core values andthe greater their commitment to those values is , the stronger the culture gets.A strong organisation culture will have a great influence on the bevaiour of its members((Robbins 1998) when employee wellbeing becomes a shared organisational value deeply rooted in the organisational culture it is evident from the following companies that productivity of the organisations increases as a result of high moral and satisfaction as well as organisations are able to retain their talents. According to Tehrani et.al(2010) Marks Spencers three-month wellbeing trial programme demonstrated an 8% reduction in its employee sickness absence for musculoskeletal health issues. Store management teams reported improved morale of the departmental team and the general store, all of which are difficult to estimate in financial terms, further improvement in customer service and improved efficiencies. Nike company employees share a core value of enhancing peoples lives through sports and fitness.nike has created a strong sports oriented culture and promoted it through company practices such as paying employees extra for biking to work instead of driving .( Robbins 1998) Companies adopting such measures aimed at promoting health and well-being among their employees influence several aspects of their employees physical and psychological well-being in ways which result in improved productivity, commitment and attendance. This includes providing good quality jobs which allow employees more control, autonomy and involvement in the way their work is done (Coats et.al 2008) Recently an OEM manufacturer, FOXCONN of china supplies to companies like DELL, APPLE and Hewlett-Packard came under scrutiny for its below standard employee relations and maltreatment.Some estimates put the companys labour turnover in to 50000 a month and reports claim a drop in recruitment standards to just about anyone with an ID. (Engadget 2010) 4.0 Transformational leadership and culture Organisational Culture is defined as a set of shared values beliefs which interact with an organisations people ,structureand ststem to produce behavioural norms. Values influence attitudes and behaviour (Robbins 1998)therefore For transformational leaders to create employee wellbeing as a shared value they need to create trust between leader and employees. This is possible when the leader practice high emotional and social intelligence and honour the psychological contract between the management and employees. Leaders facilitate in creation of value for employee wellbeing and facilitate in embedding it in to the organisational culture. They achieve this by creating trust among employees towards the leader as well as between each other and develop emotional and social intelligence of employees and honouring the psychological contract. 4.1Trust trust is a characteristics of high performance teams where the relationship between members is based on integrity ,competence, consistency, loyalty and openness (Robbins 1998 ) According to Rosen (1996 ) trust is one of the major principles in leading people.it binds people together creating a strong resilient organisation. It cannot be achieved over night according to Kouzes et.al ( 1987) but takes years to learn however an instance to loose it. Idealised influence dimension of transformational leadership helps create such relationship of trust and confidence through its attribution charisma. They are thought to display certain attributes (eg.percieved power, focus on higher order ideals and values. When this happens the followers develop an emotional tie to their leader which ultimate results in the trust specified above.(Arnold 2007) Transformational leaders gain follower trust by maintaining their integrity and dedication, by being fair in their treatment of followers, and by demonstrating their faith in followers by empowering them. It has been suggested that one way that charismatic and transformational leaders can demonstrate their dedication and build follower trust is through self sacrificial behaviours.Leaders can self sacrifice by taking on a proportionately larger workload, by foregoing the trappings of power (e.g. Gandhis peasant lifestyle), or by postponing rewards, such as Chryslers Leelacocca and Apples Steve Jobs deciding to work for 1$ a yr ..(Bass et.al 2006) Transformational leaders build trust by practicing open communication between employees and leaders. mistrust comes from what people dont know as from what they do know (Robbins 1998 ).They are excellent team players ,and they lead by example, support the teams through words and actions and demonstrating loyalty as well as treating them with respect and considering their perception in terms of objectivity and fairness in decision making. They show consistency in basic values that guide their decision making and they maintain confidences and become someone who teams can rely on. 3.2Emotional intelligence Goleman (1995) describes emotional Intelligence as self-awareness, managing our emotions effectively, motivation, empathy, reading other peoples feelings accurately, social skills like team work, persuasion, leadership and managing relationships. Transformational leaders have high emotional intelligence. They properly manage emotions that drive trust, loyalty, and commitment. The leader enables People to recognize their own emotions as well as others ,differentiates those emotions to make choices for thinking and action.(Cooper et.al 1997).It is an intelligence that may be learned, developed and improved (Perkins 1994). Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to use his awareness and sensitivity to detect, identify or understand the feelings underlying interpersonal communication and avoiding to respond on impulse and thoughtlessly, Instead to act from receptivity , authenticity ad candor.(Ryback 1998). Emotional intelligence is about influence without manipulation or abuse of authority. It is about perceiving, learning, relating, innovating, prioritizing and acting in ways that take into account and legitimize emotions, rather than relying on logic or intellect or technical analysis alone (Ryback, 1998). Transformational Leaders are highly self aware facilitating them to read ones emotions and recognize their impact while using gut feelings to guide decisions. Their social awareness enables them to sense, understand and react to others emotions while comprehending social networks. As a result of these qualities and the ability of transformational leaders to manage self inspire employees influence them and develop these qualities among them by managing conflict. This successfully results in resolved issues of workplace bullying and increase in employee satisfaction leading to higher performance. Goleman, (2010 )have shown that high levels of emotional intelligence can create climates in which information sharing, trust, healthy risk taking and learning flourish. as well as how workplace competencies based on emotional intelligence can exert greater impact on performance than do intellect or technical skills. 4.3Psychological contract When an employer distributes a performance bonus every year since it inception, employees within that particular company will expect to receive it in the coming years as well, because of the fact that every year the company distributes it. The point here is that Humans beings are very adaptable to situations .the more leaders practice employee wellbeing initiatives within the organisation the likely it will become an expectation in the psychological contract between employers and employees. Psychological contract defined by Robbins (1998) states that it is an unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from the employee and vice versa. It sets out mutual expectations. Everyone performs different roles both at work place and society. And each role demands attitudes and behaviours consistent to that particular role. Therefore both the organisation and the employee have certain expectations of that role which could mean acceptable working conditions, clear communication and a fair days work etc for employees and for organisations demonstration of a good attitude following instructions and showing loyalty to the organisation.(Robbins 1998) However when these expectations are not met trust between the employees and employers is lost, resulting in negative effects on employee performance and satisfaction. Globalisation and work force diversity further complicates the situation. Although Members of different groups share common within their group common values, attitudes and perceptions much diversity exists within each of these categories. (Bateman et.al 2009).similarly in multi racial societies such as the United States for example values shared among Asian Americans differ from values shared among Asians living in Asia. Since values influence the attitudes and behaviours of employees attaining a common shared value among the multi ethnic groups and multinational groups within an organisation is a challenge to the transformational leaders. As each of these groups will have different expectations from employers. 4.4 Social intelligence However the transformational leaders ability to connect with individuals at a personal level enables them to build a relationship of trust and influence their behaviour and attitude to share a common value which is emotional and psychological wellbeing of employees. Many leaders are appointed because of their drive, ambition and business expertise but often they are unable to work with or get along their director colleagues, colleagues and direct reports, or with others on whom their own success depends. Building on his work on emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman coined the phase Social Intelligence, in which he enlarges his focus to encompass our capacity to connect with one another.We are wired to connect Neuroscience has discovered that our brains very design makes it sociable, inexorably drawn into an intimate brain-to-brain linkup whenever we engage with another person. (Goleman 2010) Therefore in order to identify the attitudes , values and perceptions of people the leader needs to have social intelligence skills to connect to the individuals or initiate emotions in order to gain trust which ultimately leads to acceptance of ideologies and behaviours the leader intends to communicate which in turn becomes the norm of the organisation. 5.0 Employee wellbeing, Culture and performance Harter etal (2002 ) believes that worker quality of life and performance originates with the behavioural, cognitive , and health benefits of positive feelings and positive perceptions.according to him proponents of the well being perspective argue that the presence of positive emotional states and positive appraisals of the worker and his or her relationships within the people seek out interesting , meaningful, and challenging tasks.when demands match or slightly exceed resources, individuals experience positive emotional states (e.g. pleasure ,joy, energy) and they perceive themselves as growing , engaged, and productive .From the wellbeing perspective, a healthy workforce means the presence of positive feelings in the worker that should result in happier and more productive workers. a survey carried out by Aon Consulting on UK workers found out that more than 35 million sick days a year are taken for personal reasons rather than for a genuine illness and one in three UK workers (33 per cent ) say that the last time they took a day off from work as sick leave were addressing personal issues including looking after a family member, letting repairmen into their home, grieving a dead relative or pet, or feeling down after breaking up with a partner and they did not have anything wrong with them . 52 per cent of British say they would not feel forced to take a day as sick leave if they could just be honest and have access to flexible working hours or social days, said Peter Abelskamp, director of health and benefits EMEA, at Aon Consulting. Of course, employers should also not ignore the fact that 16 per cent of people say that more interesting work would keep them in the office (PM Online, 2010) In 2003 the Royal Mail sickness absence levels were 7 per cent (an average of 16 days per employee per year) As a result their Customer service standards were affected and incurred a daily cost of  £1m.the company had been experiencing issues of long-term absence for many years which was commonly due to musculoskeletal health. Therefore Royal Mail introduced a range of integrated measures to counter the problem such as as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Health screening à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Health clinics at 90 sites à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fast access to occupational health services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to physiotherapy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employee assistance programme (EAP) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Incentive scheme à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rehabilitation centres focusing on improving back, neck and shoulder injuries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Phased and partial return to work (RTW) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Case management four years later, it was reported that sickness absence levels had fallen to 4 per cent (10 days per employee) and saved Royal Mail almost  £230m. Up to 3,600 more staff were available to work each day as a result of these measures (Scribed,2010) 8.0 CONCLUSION In this fast changing global environment organisations are increasing needing leaders who concentrates on building relationships with their employees in order to increase productivity and meet the global demands. Emphasis on employee wellbeing has become a trend in todays companies which is seeing its benefits. However in order to produce a full impact leaders need to create wellbeing as a shared core value deep rooted in the culture of the organisation. This can be achieved only when the leader creates trust among employees as well as between him. This is only possible if the leader has high emotional and social intelligence and promotes it within employees and finally honouring the psychological contract between them. Therefore transformational leadership can bring about a change in organisational culture by creating values which will in turn influence the attitude and behaviour of the employees in this case employee wellbeing as a core value in the organisational culture.

Star Formation :: Astronomy

The basic idea of star formation is gravitational collapse – the contraction of a region of gas under the influence of gravity. This is a simple process that would be expected to occur in any region of material dense enough for collisions between atoms to radiate away energy. However, the gas must be dense enough for collisions to occur and the temperature must be low enough for the atomic velocities not to be able to escape the system's gravity, so star formation only occurs in a few areas. The sites of star formation in the galaxy are mostly located within molecular clouds – expansive, cool clouds of mostly hydrogen and helium gas. Molecular clouds are on average too diffuse to contract gravitationally, but within a cloud are regions of locally higher density, which are the sites of active star formation. It is not known exactly what causes molecular clouds and star-forming regions to be distributed as they are. However, it appears to be related to the spiral-arm structure of spiral galaxies, which is thought to be the result of density waves passing through the disk, compressing matter and igniting star formation in their wake, leaving the trails of young, hot, blue stars in their wake that are the primary feature of spiral galaxies. The distribution of gas in these regions is probably erratic enough that once a sufficient compression comes through a large number of separated regions will be triggered to contract individually. One a sufficiently dense region begins to contract, the process becomes self-sustaining, as contraction only increases the density and makes contraction more rapid. Any net rotation in the region will be flattened by conservation of angular momentum as the cloud contracts and spins more rapidly, making the contracting region attain the shape of a disk. The center of mass of the cloud will, of course, be the location of highest density, and as matter rains onto the center it will heat up rapidly to very high temperatures. This 'protostar' will emit strong radiation and winds which, while not immediately enough to stop the influx of matter from the disk, generates powerful outflow jets along the poles of the system, which may also be influenced by magnetic force originating in the disk. Throughout the process the temperature, density, and pressure in the protostar at the center are increasing, and soon approach figures comparable to normal stars. Once the temperature of the center

The Causes of the Industrial Revolution Essay -- Industrial Revolution

The Causes of the Industrial Revolution The causes of the Industrial Revolution were complex and remain a topic for debate, with some historians seeing the Revolution as an outgrowth of social and institutional changes wrought by the end of feudalism in Great Britain after the English Civil War in the 17th century. The Enclosure movement and the British Agricultural Revolution made food production more efficient and less labor-intensive, forcing the surplus population who could no longer find employment in agriculture into the cities to seek work in the newly developed factories. The colonial expansion of the 17th century with the accompanying development of international trade, creation of financial markets and accumulation of capital are also cited as factors, as is the scientific revolution of the 17th century. The presence of a large domestic market should also be considered an important catalyst of the Industrial Revolution, particularly explaining why it occurred in Britain. In other nations, such as France, markets were split up by local regions, which often imposed tolls and tariffs on goods traded among them. Why Europe? One question of active interest to historians is why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Europe and not other parts of the world, particularly China. Numerous factors have been suggested, including ecology, government, and culture. Benjamin Elman argues that China was in a high level equilibrium trap in which the nonindustrial methods were efficient enough to prevent use of industrial methods with high costs of capital. Kenneth Pommeranz, in the Great Divergence, argues that Europe and China were remarkably similar in 1700, and that the crucial differences which created the Industrial Revolution in Europe were: sources of coal near manufacturing centres and raw materials such as food and wood from the New World, which allowed Europe to expand economically in a way that China could not. Indeed, a combination of all of these factors is possible. Why did it start in Great Britain? The debate around the concept of the initial startup of the Industrial Revolution also concerns the lead of 30 to 100 years that the British had over the continental European countries and America. Some have stressed the importance of natural or financial resources that the United Kingdom received from its many overseas colonies or that profits from... ...ailroads for more durable rail led to the development of the means to cheaply mass-produce steel. Steel is often cited as the first of several new areas for industrial mass-production, which are said to characterize a "Second Industrial Revolution," beginning around 1870. This "second" Industrial Revolution gradually grew to include the chemical industries, petroleum refining and distribution, electrical industries, and, in the twentieth century, the automotive industries, and was marked by a transition of technological leadership from Great Britain to the United States and Germany. The introduction of hydroelectric power generation in the Alps enabled the rapid industrialization of coal-starved northern Italy, beginning in the 1890s. The increasing availability of economic petroleum products also reduced the relation of coal to the potential for industrialization. By the 1890s, industrialization in these areas had created the first giant industrial corporations with often nearly global international operations and interests, as companies like U.S. Steel, General Electric, and Bayer AG joined the railroads on the world's stock markets and among huge, bureaucratic organizations.

Julius Caesar Essay: Decision Making in Julius Caesar -- Julius Caesar

Decision Making in Julius Caesar Making the right decisions is an ongoing struggle for man, because making decisions is never easy, and the wrong decision can lead to endless perils. Decisions must be made when dealing with power, loyalty, and trust. Yet, unlike other decisions, ones that are about these three fields are the most important, due to the risk involved, and because of the consequences that might follow. Power- power is the complete domination of others, and since all men want to dominate those around them, power is valued as one of the most important possessions. Power is highly sought after, thus the correct decisions must be made to obtain it, and this is clearly proven by Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar". Power is obtained much easier than it is kept. "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!" The conspirators celebrate the death of Caesar, because they believe that they make the right decision in killing him, and so far they have, but the decision to spare Mark Antony is one that will haunt them in the end. Power is not always beneficial, it can be a very dangerous possession. "You shall not stir out of your house today." Calphurnia makes the decision to persuade Caesar to stay home, and not go to the Senate meeting. When one has power, there are those who want it, like Brutus and the other conspirators. Calphurnia makes the right decision, yet Caesar makes the wrong one by deciding ... ...imminent. In the course of man's life he will have to make many decisions, and some will decide his future. Power, loyalty, and trust, are essential, yet obtaining them is only the beginning, managing them is a much harder task. For one to succeed he must realize how much power is beneficial and how much is dangerous. Loyalty helps one's cause immensely, yet one must not take the loyalty of his followers to the extreme. Trust is one of the most important assets a man can have, he must be careful, and not take it for granted. Man must always be prepared for these times when a decision must be made, because, as seen in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", one irrational decision can be man's last.

Chapter Twenty One .

Chapter 21. Section one. Page 639. 3. The effects of the Teapot Dome scandal on citizen’s views of the government. The Teapot Dome scandal caused the citizens to view the government as corrupt. 4. How Ohio Gang did the tarnish the Harding Administration? Some Members of the Ohio Gang used their position to their personal advantage, to sell government jobs, pardons, and protection from prosecution. Forbes sold scarce medication supplies from veterans’ hospitals and kept the money for himself, costing taxpayers about $250 million. 5. How did the Democrats lose the chance for victory in the election of 1924? The democrats couldn’t agree on a nominee and kept focusing on the issues of scandal in the White House and Harding, who was dead. Coolidge provided the Republicans a man who would not say anything that would damage the cause and let business take care of itself. 6. Harding vs. Coolidge Harding: Politics- 7. Coolidge was a leader; he avoided scandal and supported business prosperity. 8. Newspaper article about the Teapot Dome scandal. Albert B. Fall, U. S. Secretary of the Interior, leased, without competitive bidding, the Teapot Dome fields to Harry F. Sinclair, an oil operator, and the field at Elk Hills, California, to Edward L. Doheny. He received bribes from those two which brought indictments for conspiracy and accepting bribes for Fall. He was convicted of accepting bribes and sentenced to one year in prison anad fined $100,000. Section two. Page 646. 3. What were the factors that led to the new consumer society in the United States during the 1920’s? The factors that led to the new consumer society in the united states during the 1920’s were mass production, easy credit, mass advertisement, and economic prosperity. 4. How did the automobile impact American society? The automobile eased rural isolation and allowed workers to live further away from where they worked. 5. How did the United States government help spur the growth of the airline industry? Governmental airmail service and funds helped spur the growth of the airline industry. 6. New Industries †¢ The Consumer Goods Industry. †¢ The Airline Industry. †¢ The Radio Industry. †¢ The Automobile Industry. 7. How did the growing consumer culture impact the nation’s economy? The growing consumer raised the standard of living and encouraged Americans to buy new goods. . Newspaper Article on Charles Lindbergh. Charles A. Lindbergh not only opened a passageway to Europe; he opened up the hopes of people who never thought they would see outside their continental boundaries. Before Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, travel was limited to the ground or the sea; and even the amazing â€Å"automobiles† were blocked by waterways. Travel had boundaries prior to Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic, but after his flight people could see beyond those boundaries. Section three. 3. Why did Andrew Mellon work to reduce federal tax rates? He thought that lowering taxes rates would spur the economy by encouraging businesses and consumers to invest and spend. 4. What efforts did the United States make to promote permanent peace and worldwide economic recovery? Were these efforts successful? 5. Treaties 1. Four-Power Treaty †¢ All agreed to respect the others’ territory in the Pacific. †¢ Full and open negotiations in the event of disagreements. 2. Five-Power Treaty †¢ All agreed to freeze naval production at 1921 levels and halt production of large warships for 10 years. †¢ U. S. and Great Britain would not build new naval bases in the western public. . Nine-Power Treaty †¢ All agreed to preserve equal commercial rights to China _ a reassertion of the â€Å"Open Door Policy† 6. What is the difference between politics and the media then and now? Back then there wasn’t a lot â€Å"paparazzi† and it looks like it was more organized and low-key. Nowadays there are people with cameras everywhere and you can barely see what’s actually going on in the center of it all. 7. Cutting Taxes. Good or bad? Chapter Review 12-16. 12. What was the presidency of Warren G, Harding like? Harding urged a â€Å"return to normalcy. The policies of his administration were commonly conservative, especially regarding taxes, tariffs, immigration restriction, labor rights, and business regulation. 13. How did President Coolidge restore public confidence? Coolidge distanced himself from Harding’s administration and named the most capable individuals to his cabinet. 14. What were four new industries, besides the automobile industry, that grew in importance during the 1920’s? †¢ Aircraft †¢ Radio †¢ Motion Pictures †¢ New Electric Appliances 15. How did Henry Ford increase worker loyalty and impact the labor movement? Ford increased workers’ wages and reduced the work day which weakened the power of unions. 16. What were Andrew Mellon’s strategies for maintaining postwar American prosperity? When Mellon took office he had three major goals which were: to balance the budget, to reduce the government’s debt and to cut taxes. 17. How did Automobiles change the standard living during the 1920’s? Automobiles allowed people to travel greater distances a lot faster, it also allowed workers to live outside cities. Rural Americans’ sense isolation also decreased. The success of mass production resulted in new and cheaper consumer goods. 8. How effective were President Coolidge’s attempts to distance himself from the Harding administration? Coolidge’s attempts to distance himself from the Harding administration were obviously pretty effective. He chose effective cabinet members and associating himself with prosperity and big businesses. 19. 20. 21. A. Accordi ng to Coolidge, how should Americans feel about the present economy and the future economy? He thinks that the country should regard the present with satisfaction and appreciate the future with optimism. B. Whom does Coolidge credit for the U. S. prosperity? He thinks it’s thanks to the integrity and character of the American people. 23. A. American Farmers earned less then one-third the average income for workers in the rest of the economy in the 1920’s- fact, it can be proven and it uses statistics. B. President Harding’s choice to appoint Colonel Charles R. Forbes to head Veterans Bureau was his worst decision in office- opinion, can’t be proven, it’s the way someone view the decision. C. The Kelly Act authorized postal officials to contract with private airplane operators to carry mail- fact, its something that is actually true.

Immigrant assimilation Essay

Immigrant assimilation is a well known process in which a group of immigrations change their culture in order to adapt with the dominant society, which are the native people of a certain country. In the United States, this process had been widespread since the early 1800s, where immigrants gradually become similiar with natives. There are two kinds of assimilations. The first one is that immigrants are becoming more similar over time in norms, and behaviors, while the second one , the racialor ethnic disadvantage model states that mostly black immigrants or other races that are discriminated have no chance to assimilate. An example of this model is discrimination to job opportunities. There were three theoretical explanation referring to assimilation. In 1845 Ralph Emerson referred to assimilitaion as the main idea for imigrants of changing themselves in an equal way, because not only the europians, but also the other races can contribute to the new formed citizens. Mead and Kwan stu died a person’s treatment in society for what he truly is and not categorizing people in racial minorities. Robert Park interpretated assimilitation as a process in which people share experiences together and in this way help the immigrants to be part of the american mainstream life. He viewed this process as the end of the stage of race cycle. After World War 1, he and Thomas, after some studies of immigrants in Chicago,explained that it will be easier if immigrant groups were left to make this process happen slowly and not being forced to change because of the feeling discriminated. It has been proved that people were more efficient this way, and assimilation shows inwhat direction are these people actually moving or changing. The third theory shows Gordon’s points of view. He explained assimilation through acculuration, which according to him is a one way process where the minority integrates with the majority. He also focused on the generational change because he noticed that the first generation of people that were born somewhere else in the world were less assimilated than the second one, their children. The measurable aspects of assimilation are socioeconomic status, spatial concentration, language attainment, and intermarriage. The first one refers to education, wealth, and occupation. The second one is defined by residential patterns, while the third one indicated their first language, and the last one is defined by race or ethnicity. I agree on Gordon’s statement about the generation change and the segmented assimilation theory which focuses on the notion that people adapt in different ways with their life in the United States, depending on their social and economic factors. Immigrants come from diverse backgrounds, and their children known as second generation immigrants, have another experience regarding cultural conflict compared to their parents and that of mainstream american society. These second generation immigrants seem to assimilate into society easier. Three major groups including Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans make up the population of second generation immigrants in the United States. Latinos have resulted really successful in businesses in LA and Miami, and a lot of new students are enrolled in schools. In contrast to their parents, second generation Hispanics are more likely to intermarry with members of other racial groups. The second generation immigrants of African Americans seem to be more aware of racial discrimination. In addition, the assimilation into black society and black culture in the U.S. by these children is hindered by their parents’ oppositional stance to American black culture, contributing to identity conflict. A considering percentage of the Asian population in the U.S. can be categorized as a second generation immigrants. Again, we can see the segmented assimilation theory in practice here because the cultural assimilation of second generation Asians is diverse, where many are highly educated, which results that asians have achieved a lot and consist on middle class families. The second generation of immigrants are truly part of the society and should not be considered foreign. In conlusion, immigrant assimilation is a complex process in which immigrants not only fully integrate themselves into a new country, but also lose a lot of aspects of their native cultures. The most common route to economic well-being for the young adults is to join the mainstream. This meticulously researched project shows that immigrant youths in fact fare better than both their parents and their native counterparts. This second generation advantage reflects the systematic differences between immigrant and native groups For example, adult children of immigrants are more likely to live at home in multigenerational households than native bourns. Moreover, the presence of extended family members could allow for more working adults to pool income together, and thus make more resources available per child.