Nike and International Labor Practice Essay Example for Free

Nike and International Labor Practice Essay Issue Identification Built up in the mid 70s Nike, Inc., situated in Beaverton, Oregon, USA confronted an extreme stream of analysis and experienced developing issues concerning their plants and representative treatment, basically in Indonesia and Vietnam in 1988. Rising interest for Nike items, which nearly multiplied inside a brief timeframe, drove the organization and its 350+ subcontractors to raise the creation level. Arrangement of work issues and misuse, for example, modest work compensation, poor working conditions, wellbeing and security issues and underage specialists abuse, were the primary issues Nike needed to manage. Besides, Nike, Inc. needed to manage dealing with the decent variety of societies and language obstructions must be survived, while still have the option to create the top notch item Nike is popular for. All through the 1990s Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, Inc. also, the organization itself lost their eminent corporate picture in the eye of the world and it turned into a global occurrence. Reasons for Problem Subsequent to building up a name on the planet, Phil Knight, chose to make Nikes attire in South Korea and Taiwan, and by 1982 effectively 86% of Nikes shoes originated from these two nations. Understanding that Asian nations like Indonesia, Vietnam and China give less expensive work cost, better government support and higher benefit, Nike moved their creation lines there, with Indonesia turning into a significant area. In 1991, the day by day the lowest pay permitted by law was scarcely $1 in Indonesia, contrasted with a run of the mill every day compensation of $24.40 in South Korea and a US time-based compensation of about $8 in athletic shoe producing. Indeed, even that the Indonesian government raised the lowest pay permitted by law from 2,100 Rupiah ($1.00/day) to 2,500 Rupiah ($1.25/day), the new pay was still underneath the laborers everyday costs. In 1992, these issues went outside of Indonesia and even hit Washington D.C., when President Clinton presented the team Apparel I ndustry Partnership (AIP) to create and control work gauges for remote manufacturing plants. In spite of the fact that Nike was the first to go along with, they experienced difficulty persuading individuals that everything went directly in their plants in Asia. Ernst Young was being employed to control and review the manufacturing plants, however before long voices turned out to be uproarious, that there was not a reallyâ objective view at the issues, since Nike was paying them. It hit the top in 1997/1998, when TV shows, papers and even a film (The Big One) were discussing the awful conditions inside Nikes production lines in Asia and freely tested Phil Knight to change the manner in which laborers were dealt with, redressed and how underage specialists were utilized. Adidas, Reebok and New Balance exploited Nikes down slant and picked up in upper hand. This prompted decreasing deals number, profit fell 69%, and without precedent for a long time Nike, Inc. had a misfortune toward the year's end 1998. Choices 1.Government guideline of Nike Favorable circumstances: a)Local Government would have a more critical look onto what's going on in its own nation and with their kin b)US Government could likewise have a more intensive look onto what Nike is doing abroad and would have the option to mediate any criminal behavior from the country c)Both governments would work nearer together and it would open entryways for different US organizations to put resources into the outside nation Disservices: a)As demonstrated for the situation, a few governments simply observe the cash that is brought into the nation, notwithstanding what's going on inside the organization, or better said to its kin. b)Ties between the US government and the outside nation probably won't be the best, because of political strains, and makes it hence harder to cooperate. 2.Improve representatives working and expectations for everyday comforts Favorable circumstances: a)A cheerful representative is a superior specialist improve the representatives expectation for everyday comforts by raising his compensation, giving him more advantages (medical coverage, get-away time), decrease his working hours, and so forth. b)Equal Opportunity offer opportunities to laborers to climb the organization stepping stool, and not just bring outside individuals in. Besides, alter laborers pay, working hours and work conditions to human principles. c)Extensive preparing and advancement for chiefs All directors ought to learn outside countrys language, living propensities and adjust to culture. Preparing the laborers hands on will likewise assist with beating workforce decent variety and make the working environment a superior spot to be. Disservices: a)The changes will require significant investment and will be financially savvy. b)Adapt to western working propensities, may be an immense change for Asian workforce and probably won't be adjusted well 3.Documentation and Inspection Points of interest: a)Factories will be directed, by either the neighborhood government or associations b)Inspections will prompt better working conditions c)Workers will have somebody to converse with and won't be disregarded Drawbacks: a)Again, associations may be paid by Nike and not report every bit of relevant information b)Reports from laborers may be disregarded and not raised to individuals in control Best Alternative The best option for Nike, Inc. is to embrace every one of the three options all the while. So as to restore the piece of the overall industry and upper hand, their worldwide view needs to reinforce. They began very well by actualizing a portion of the previously mentioned thoughts. These choices will simply assist them with becoming a more grounded player in this quickly developing and extremely serious business world. Usage Steps The activities, that Nike, Inc. should take are as followed: First they should take a shot at getting their name once more into the correct spotlight, by executing the other options. The legislatures will be more than ready to support them and since Nike is perceived everywhere throughout the world, even the neighborhood governments/nations are enthusiastic about keeping them in their nation and utilize their residents. This may in any event, bring nations like the USA and Indonesia closer together and more organizations from the US will be all set to Indonesia and produce there. Furthermore, the laborers benefits, life standard and work propensities are the most significant of the entirety of the other options. Nike, Inc. ought to contribute the majority of their innovative work in this field, since the wages are still not as they ought to be. A thought is begin raising the wages to in any event the countrys standard, with the goal that individuals can live off their profit a typical life. Nike began effectively the usage of projects that included expanding the laborers expectation for everyday comforts in the creating scene, yet at the same time the pay of the specialist is the fundamental issue that should be taken on immediately. Secure working spots, no lay-offs and safe workplaces ought to be steps that must be taken promptly, at exactly that point we can see the distinction and make a specialist a happyâ and beneficial representative. To wrap things up, Nike ought to be viewed, reviewed and reported upon. It won't just assistance the processing plants in Vietnam or Indonesia, yet additionally the organization itself. Once outside associations disclose to Nike where they have to enhance and do it in the wake of being told, at that point the organization will likewise get into the positive spotlight, which will continue in higher deals and more benefit. Nike will at that point be again the most grounded contender in supporting and supporting colleges, genius competitors and groups and most significant an organization that everyone needs to work for, notwithstanding where.

Get Full Visibility Into Your Entire Email Marketing Strategy in CoSchedule

Get Full Visibility Into Your Entire Email Marketing Strategy in Email showcasing. It’s 4x more compelling than standard mail gets 6x a bigger number of changes than Twitter 40x more commitment than Facebook Furthermore, has the BIGGEST effect on your ROI ðÿ' °Ã°Ã¿' °Ã°Ã¿' ° Why? Your crowd picked inâ to your email list. They wantâ to get notification from you! Furthermore, when you depend on email promoting as your essential channel to drive changes, benefits, and client relationships†¦ you need a straightforward AND successful approach to oversee it. Which is the reason I’m eager to present our most current featureEmail Marketing from ! Otherwise known as the new, more straightforward approach to oversee and streamline this POWERFUL procedure inside your schedule. With Email Marketing from , you can: Flawlessly incorporate with your *favorite* email promoting stage. You as of now have a kick-a$$ email stage you know and love, so why surrender it? With Email Marketing, you can without much of a stretch associate your favored email stage to with only two or three ticks. Compose click-commendable email subject linesevery time. With Email Marketing, you can utilize ’s *exclusive* Email Subject Line Tester to improve and consummate each title to drive moreâ opens, moreâ clicks, and more changes. Get full perceivability into your ENTIRE marketing technique. State â€Å"buh-bye† to incoherent promoting content (and continually hopping from screen to screen). With Email Marketing, it’s simple to perceive how your email battles identify with the remainder of your promoting technique and rapidly make changes if important. What's more, when it’s this simple to oversee + advance your effectively incredible email advertising system envision the amount more ROI you can drive with everything in one spot. ðÿ˜‰

Essay Samples For Job Applications

Essay Samples For Job ApplicationsEssay samples for job applications can help you achieve a perfect score. Good writing skills are essential in getting a high grade in the writing test. The essay test will take into consideration your capabilities and your previous experience. Knowing how to write a good essay is not that hard, but there are several tips that can help you write a well-structured essay.Lastly, be patient while reading the instructions of the test. There are some questions that are really difficult, so just take your time. In no time, you will be answering the question and passing the test with flying colors.Looking for good essay samples for job applications can prove to be a great idea. You have probably read about the possible essay questions that might appear on your application. You will also notice that some questions seem to be too easy. Why do this? This is because you need to have a realistic picture of what the employer wants from you and from the company tha t you apply to.In order to appear as if you are well prepared when applying for a particular career path, it would be wise to remember that you can't be too well prepared. Also, you will never be able to prepare all that well if you don't know how to work within the chosen career. You need to think about the available jobs that you can apply for and also look at the job description of the employer.For instance, if you want to apply for a job as a material planner, you must first look into the job descriptions of the jobs in that particular field. You will need to find out the nature of the work that material planners do. This includes making arrangements for furniture and for all the supplies that a client needs.Furniture and office supplies are one of the items that material planners need to make sure they get paid for. Your work must be done according to the requirements of the clients and also in accordance with the company's requirements. This means that you need to know what yo u should be thinking about and the most important thing is that you have to show that you are a great worker and a devoted professional.Once you have understood the rules of the game, you can begin to fill in the necessary information about yourself. When you apply for a job, you must answer all the questionnaires that will be placed on your application. It is important that you put all the information that the employer will require, such as your age, work history, your education, employment and so on.You should remember that you must also remember your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to job applications. Be aware that these could also influence the results of your application. Do not be too reserved, because employers need to know that you are determined. You should be the one to write your own fate by showing that you are serious about the job that you want.

The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials - 1382 Words

The Salem Witch Trials are a big part of history that is still hard to unravel today. These trials occurred in 1692, when a few teenage girls admitted to being possessed with the devil and blamed other local residents with committing Witchcraft (â€Å"Salem Witch Trials†). The accusations all started with a young girl named Abigail Williams. She believed that if she blamed other people, she would not be punished for the things she did. As a result, many other girls followed her lead and named innocent people, who they said did witchcraft. It is sad to say many people died due to false accusations and factious evidence. From this horrific event, Arthur Miller wrote a book called The Crucible. There are many theories regarding the girls†¦show more content†¦Therefore the girls were being deprived of having fun and living a normal teenage life. It was ingrained in their brain to work and follow the strict rules of puritan life. From this, they lacked certain stimuli and it affected the function of their brain, which caused hallucinations.This could explain why the â€Å"accusing girls† in Salem acted so strangely. An example of these girls’ strange behavior would be near the end of Act 3, when the girls are all standing in the courtroom. John Proctor had just brought in Mary Warren to testify against the girls and explain that what they were doing was all made up. Mary Warren told the court that she could not fake passing out on her own, then all of a sudden the girls began acting strangely. Abigail looked towards the ceiling and yelled, â€Å"Look out! Shes coming down!† (Miller). Then all girls started screaming and running away, saying that there was a bird that was trying to get them. The dilemma is, no one else saw the bird except for the girls. Therefore, the girls were having a hallucination at this time. Another aspect of the Ergot poisoning theory that makes it credible is that the fungus grows on crops, which were the main source of food for the Puritans. Ergot affects rye grain, which was an essential crop grown during this era. In order for Ergot to grow, it needs to be in a warm, damp atmosphere. Most of the girls lived on the west side of the village, where the fields were very wet.Show MoreRelatedThe Salem Trials : The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials989 Words   |  4 Pages What type of people were involved in the trials? The type of people involved in the trials was the surroundings of the Salem village, puritan religion, but mostly women. Their belief was sacred to both, god and devil. They believed that women were too weak to fight the devil and lose so they become the devils servant, which is a witch. Puritans also believed in predestination which is having god already knowing it they go to heaven or hell. No matter what life they had, whether good or bad, theyRead MoreThe Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials1748 Words   |  7 PagesThe Salem witch trials were a series of different court trials. They occurred after a group of young girls were claimed to be possessed by the devil. These individuals experienced hallucinations. Some of the suspects explained the attacks as if bugs were crawling under their skin. When the outbreak began to spread, the government proceeded to accuse multiple people in the colony of witchcraft. This is how the Salem witch trials came to be. The trials took place in coloni al Massachusetts. AccordingRead MoreThe Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials Essay987 Words   |  4 PagesThe Causes of the Salem Witch Trials In 1692 in the quaint Puritan village of Salem Massachusetts, twenty lives were claimed to execution on charges of witchcraft, nineteen by hanging and one man was pressed to death. The causes of these deaths and the Salem Witch Trails can be easier understood when the culture of Puritan Colonial life is examined. The Salem community was rooted in the Puritan religion. Puritans believed like all Christians, that humanity was guilty of the original sin committedRead MoreCauses Of The Salem Witch Trials994 Words   |  4 Pagesdevelop the greatest consequence possible. The Salem Witch Trials are an example of such conflict, as they resulted in many people being falsely accused for crimes, arrested, and killed. But what provoked this mass hysteria? Scholars have attempted to answer this question, but the most common idea is that it was due to a variety of economic, social, and physiological problems within the Salem village. In order to understand the cause of the Salem Witch Trials, some background must be given about the eventRead MoreThe Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials1173 Words   |  5 PagesThe Salem Witch Trials in New England comprised the largest outbreak of witchcraft panic in American history. Historians and scientists have contributed the accusations of witchcraft in the early 1690’s to everything, from disease, religious and political agendas, to harsh weather. It is believed that a better understanding of the cause of the atrocities in Salem, and those like it, may prevent such events from reoccurring. Despite many years of study, however, what caused such panic in New EnglandRead MoreCauses Of The Salem Witch Trials841 Words   |  4 Pages In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, hysteria broke out throughout the town in an event that later became known as the Salem Witch Trials. They were the largest account of witch hangings ever in America, as 20 women and men were put to death for being accused of practicing witchcraft. Historians have been debating about how these trials were caused. The frenzy in Salem happened because at first, young girls were afraid of punishment and wanted to avoid it so they blamed older women and accused themRead MoreCauses of the Salem Witch Trials Essay2035 Words   |  9 Pagesgreatest impact possible. The Salem Witch Trials are one such conflict. This conflict caused many to be accused, arrested, and killed. Because of social, economic, religious, and physical problems within the community, Salem Village was present with prejudice and panic causing the Salem Witch Trials. Witchcraft has been present in many other religions, not only the Puritan religion. Witchcraft was also found in Catholic and Protestant parts of Europe. The Salem Witch Trials were smaller in comparisonRead MoreThe Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692700 Words   |  3 PagesSalem Witch Trials DBQ   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How would you feel if your life was ruined just because you were considered unfit for society? This is exactly what was going on during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Prior to the trials, there were witch hunts that caused global unease mainly to Protestant societies. King Philip’s War also contributed to this unease by pushing people from the east coast and into Puritan towns. These towns had misogynistic male leadership, depriving many people of humanity becauseRead MoreReasons : The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials741 Words   |  3 Pagesarrested in Salem, Massachusetts. All but one of these people were believed to be witches (Background Essay). Prior to the hearing in Salem witch trials were carried out in several different towns. â€Å"In 17th century New England witchcraft was a serious crime (Background Essay).† Two girls aged nine and 11, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, identified a slave name Tituba and two other local women as witches. This led to the accused women being carted off to jail starting the Salem Witch Trials. WithoutRead MoreThe Causes Of Fanaticism In The Salem Witch Trials750 Words   |  3 Pagesmost important reason was probably the fanaticism that caused everyone to blame Satan for the witchcraft, which stopped people from looking for other reasons which may have caused the witchcraft. This fanaticism stopped people from looking at other causes of the symptoms, and they didn’t bother to use a scientific or logical perspective because they were obsessed with finding witches. Additionally, because people immediately turned towards Satan for the answer to their problems, they may have used

The American Of The United States - 1022 Words

World War Two ended finally in the summer of nineteen forty-five. Life in the United States began to return to normal. Soldiers began to come home and find peacetime jobs. Industry stopped producing war equipment and began to produce goods that made peacetime life pleasant. The American economy was stronger than ever. Some major changes began to take place in the American population. Many Americans were not satisfied with their old ways of life. They wanted something better. And many people were earning enough money to look for a better life. Millions of them moved out of cities and small towns to buy newly-built homes in the suburbs. Our program today will look at the growth of suburbs and other changes in the American population in the years after World War Two. The United States has always counted its population every ten years. The government needed to know how many people lived in each state so it would know how many congressmen each state should have. The first count was made two-hundred years ago. At that time, the country had about four million persons. One hundred years later, the population had increased to about sixty-three million persons. By nineteen fifty, there were more than one hundred fifty million persons in the United States. In the early years of America, the average mother had eight to ten children. Living conditions were hard. Many children died at an early age. Families needed a lot of help on the farm. So it was good to have many children. ThisShow MoreRelatedThe American Of The United States778 Words   |  4 PagesInduction From before it begins the Untied States has been a nation of immigrants. In 1607 the Virginia company of London sent a 34 Man crew to the new world efforts to find new land. These first ever settlers were the first immigrants to enter the Untied States. Immigrates would continue to flow into the US till the late 1800’s when the first immigration policies were created. The first immigrants to come to the US were seeking economic opportunities. However, because the price of passage wasRead MoreThe American Of The United States1371 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States is one of the largest countries that are made up of individuals from diverse origins and cultures. In addition, most foreigners from the other parts of the world migrated to the U.S, or become American citizens under different circumstances, especially during the 18th, 19th and the 20th centuries. Black Americans for example, arose in the American culture as a result of the numerous Africans who were being sold to the whites in order for them to work in the cotton and pyrethrumRead MoreThe American Of The United States Essay1731 Words   |  7 Pagesdemonstrated, women from Central America left their homes to seek employment in the United States for domestic work for a variety of reasons and factors. During the 1960s and 1970s the demographics of migrants from Central America start ed to shift. Originally men were the primary immigrants to migrate to the United States for jobs in agriculture. However, as the openings in the domestic work industry formed, Central American women started to pioneer their own labor migration. An example of this can beRead MoreThe American Of The United States1095 Words   |  5 Pagescentury, the United States government made it their mission to expend from the east coast all the way to the west coast. Unfortunately the lands they wanted to expand into were already claimed by the natives that settled there centuries before. In order to deal with this obstacle, The united states’ government used many strategies to combat what was referred to as the ‘indian problem’ including: confiscating their lands, relocating the to reservations and killing them .The United States went againstRead MoreThe American Of The United States Essay882 Words   |  4 PagesWhenever one finds themselves involved in the age-old debat e of whether citizens of the United States, are greedy or generous, their arguments are usually fueled by opinion rather than fact. The fact of the matter is, that citizens of the United States on average are magnanimous people. The evidence to support this claim is that American citizen’s rank 2nd in the world in charity, the fact that most Americans are generous because of their moral and religious upbringings, and that generosity makesRead MoreThe American Of The United States1081 Words   |  5 PagesThe United States has always been a progressive nation from its start in the 1700s and eventual revolution against the British. After a rocky start as an independent nation, the U.S. began to expand create its own laws and ideas of democracy as well as trade throughout the world. Much of this intercultural trading and exploration of Manifest Destiny allowed the U.S. to grow economically, culturally, physically, and politically. Emerging as one of the more powerful nations, t he U.S. became a brightRead MoreThe American Of The United States817 Words   |  4 PagesInduction From before its begins the Untied States has been a nation of immigrants. In 1607 the Virginia company of London sent a 34 Man crew to the new world efforts to find new land. These first ever settlers were the first immigrants to enter the Untied States. Immigrates would continue to flow into the US till the late 1800’s when the first immigration policies were created. The first immigrants to come to the US were seeking economic opportunities. However, because the price of passage wasRead MoreThe American Of The United States Essay1438 Words   |  6 PagesWhen the American colonies declared themselves independent from on their mother country, Britain, on July 4, 1776, they sought to devise a plan to govern themselves without the constraints that had been imposed on them leading to their detachment. Prominent leaders in the thirteen colonies worked together to strike the perfect balance between the rights of the federal government and the rights of the states. On June 12, 1776, a committee was formed to put together a document that would bring togetherRead MoreThe American Of The United States1192 Words   |  5 Pagesassociations designed to promote the interests of particular groups—debtors, farmers, artisans, seaman (74)† were emerging throughout the states. In order to get their points across, they frequently resorted to vigilan te methods. As soon as the war stopped, trade with the British seemed to start where it left off. British ships clogged American harbors and traders offered Americans low, easy credit. All classes lived in moderate luxury even if they could not afford it. Those still committed to the ideal ofRead MoreThe American Of The United States891 Words   |  4 Pagesjust like Americans seeking a better way to provide for their families. In Cuba, the average rate a day is approximately 466 pesos, and equals about $22 a day in the U.S. (http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=97506) If an American made $22 dollars a day they would certainly consider it to be the complete opposite of rightfulness. Costs are through the roof and owning anything would be out of the question. Although, Cubans are a small percentage of the U.S population they still migrate to the states by the

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay - 1588 Words

Women, Courtly Love and the Creation Myth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a great epic written in fourteenth century Europe by the Pearl poet, emphasizes the opposition of Christian love to Courtly love in the 13th century through the dilemma of Sir Gawain, one of the great knights of the Arthurian round table. By examining the women in the poem, Gawains dilemma becomes a metaphor for the contrast of these two distinct types of love. The poem looks upon the Virgin Mary as the representative of spiritual love, obedience, chastity, and life (Warner 9). In contrast, Morgan le Fay and Bertilaks wife appear to be representing courtly love, disobedience, lust and death. This†¦show more content†¦This is referring to both the pentangle on the inside of his shield which represents the Five Virtues of Gawain and the carving of Mary on the inside of his shield which gave him faith and courage. Gawains shift in faith from Mary to the Green Girdle at the end of the story dictates his downfall. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gawains temptation begins upon entering Bertilaks court, which is a totally different world to him. Although he is initially in a serious mood, he drops his guard at the sight of Lady Bertilak. All he wants to do is to escort her down the aisle and admire her loveliness. When Gawain had gazed on that gay lady, with leave of her lord, he politely approached; to the elder in homage he humbly bows; the lovelier he salutes with a light embrace. He claims a comely kiss, and courteously he speaks; they welcome him warmly, and straightway he asks to be received as their servant, if they so desire; (Adams, 222). Strolling down the aisle beside Lady Bertilak is an older woman who serves as a standard for comparison, accentuating her beauty. But unlike to look upon, those ladies were, for if the one was fresh, the other was faded; (Adams, 222). This comparison is a reminder of the moral statement associating women with sex, sin and death. Decay of the flesh is sometime s a perceived as spiritual decay, asShow MoreRelatedSir Gawain And The Green Knight1359 Words   |  6 PagesIn the poem â€Å"Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,† a protagonist emerges depicting an Arthurian knight named Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew, takes initiative by accepting the challenge requested by the Green Knight in place of his uncle. He undergoes a perilous adventure, seeking for the Green Knight to receive the final blow. Although Sir Gawain is not viewed as a hero for his military accomplishments, he is, however, viewed as a heroic figure by the Knights at the Round Table for hisRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight862 Words   |  4 PagesIn Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by an unknown author referred to as the â€Å"Pearl Poet,† we are introduced to Sir Gawain. Gawain is a knight of the Round Table and he is also the nephew of King Arthur. As a knight, Gawain is expected to possess and abide by many chivalrous facets. Through out the poem he portrays many of the qualities a knight should possess, such as bravery, courtesy, and honor among others. Because of his ability to possess these virtues even when tempted to stray away from themRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight1514 Words   |  7 PagesSir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem written in the mid to late fourteenth century by an unknown author. Throughout the tale, Sir Gawain, a Knight at the Round Table in Camelot, is presented with many hardships, the first being a challenge on Christmas by a man in which, â€Å"Everything about him was an elegant green† (161). This â€Å"Green Knight† challenged someone in Camelot to accept his game which they will chop off his head with his axe and the Green Knight will do the same to the playerRead MoreSir Gawain and the Green Knight1100 Words   |  5 PagesThe poem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight compares a super natural creature to nature. The mystery of the poem is ironic t o the anonymous author. The story dates back into the fourteenth century, but no one knows who originally wrote the poem. This unknown author explains in the poem of Sir Gawain not knowing of the location of the Green Chapel and or who the Green Knight really is. This keeps the reader entertained with the suspicion of not knowing. The author then does not give his name orRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay1687 Words   |  7 PagesSir Gawain and the Green Knight contains ambiguity and irony that make it interesting to read and teach. Gawain’s conflict arose when he accepted the girdle that could protect him and when he lied to his host, severing fellowship with the lord for courtesy with the lady. By utilizing a social reconstructionist philosophy of teaching that emphasizes personal beliefs and ethics, a teacher will help the students establish their identities and learn to appreciate classic literature. Sir Gawain and theRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight1 335 Words   |  6 PagesSir Gawain: The Ironic Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale of the utmost irony in which Sir Gawain, the most loyal and courteous of all of King Arthur’s knights, fails utterly to be loyal and courteous to his king, his host, his vows, and his God. In each case, Sir Gawain not only fails to perform well, but performs particularly poorly, especially in the case of his relationship with God. Ultimately, Sir Gawain chooses magic over faith, and by doing so, shows his ironic nature as aRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight906 Words   |  4 Pagesusually the latter. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight we see Sir Bertilak go off to hunt three very specific animals as a game with Sir Gawain. They agree that â€Å"what ever [Bertilak catches] in the wood shall become [Sir Gawain’s], and what ever mishap comes [Sir Gawain’s] way will be given to [Bertilak] in exchange.† (Sir Gawain†¦, ln 1105-1007). In this deal we slowly see Gawain loose his honor as paralleled with Sir B ertilak’s hunt. The first animal that is hunted by the knight is a deer, while thisRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay1521 Words   |  7 PagesFall 16 Donnelly Many years ago, knights were expected to form a certain type of relationship with their king, this relationship was otherwise known as fealty. Fealty is a knight’s sworn loyalty to their king (in other words a loyal relationship should be formed between the two). The use of this relationship is shown in the poem called â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† ( the author is unknown). This poem has a classic quest type of formula, with a knight receiving a challenge and then going outRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight1455 Words   |  6 PagesHowever, for Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight temptation existed around every corner while he was playing the game of the Green Knight. Temptation existed every day and each day it existed in a new way. Gawain never knew what was coming his way throughout the grand scheme of the game, but one thing was for certain he was being tested. Without his reliance religious faith and dedication to his reputation, Gawain wo uld not have been able to make it through the game of the Green Knight alive andRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay1020 Words   |  5 PagesBoth Sir Gawain, from â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† translated by Marie Borroff, and Beowulf, from Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, serve as heroes in different times of Medieval English Literature. Many of the basic principles that describe heroes in Medieval Literature are seen in both of these characters even though they were written in different times. There are distinct similarities, differences, and also a progression of what the hero was in English literature, between Sir Gawain and

Finance And Funding - Ashtead Group

Question: Describe about the Finance And Funding - Ashtead Group? Answer: Introduction Board of Directors of most of the corporate organizations often require effective consultancy research and report regarding the financial and non-financial performance of their organizations in order to make effective strategic decisions for the growth and development of their business (Aras et al. 2010). Financial ratios are one of the most effective indicators of organizational performance in terms of their financial aspects (Taticchi, 2010). An efficient management consultant always considers preparing a balanced scorecard, which is a strategic planning and management technique that is essential for aligning the organizational vision and strategy of the organizations with their business and operation activities (Sennels, 2011). In other words, a balance scorecard helps monitoring organizational performance and improving organizational communication against their strategic goals. Ashtead Group is one of the renowned organizations renting equipments throughout the world. Most of their domestic networks are in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The company is mainly famous for providing extensive range of industrial and construction equipments for various applications and to a diverse customer segments. Their equipments include power generating, lifting, moving heavy industrial objects, digging, drilling, heating, pumping, ventilating and various other necessities. The key objective of the company is to allocate sustainable assessment and maximum performance throughout the economic cycle, to extend industry-leading arrangement, and to deliver maximum returns for their shareholders (Ashtead-group.com, 2015). Ashtead Group Vision Expanding the growth and development of their business to retain and to improve their leading position within the equipment rental industry The management of Ashtead Group has been concentrating upon their business growth and business development strategies and policies since last few years, as they realized that their company has better chance of winning maximum market share within the equipment renting industry both in the US and in the UK. The company has further improvised their organizational structure, financing structure and operational efficiency in order to dominate the equipment rental market throughout the world, especially in the US and in the UK. Delivering maximum returns on investments to the shareholders throughout the economic cycle (Ashtead-group.com, 2015) The management of Ashtead Group has clearly stated within their Annual reports that their significance success largely depends upon the contribution and dedicated support from their shareholders. Their shareholders have always welcomingly supported their company and the strategies implemented by the management of Ashtead Group. Therefore, they have realised the importance of understanding shareholders benefits and concerns. The company has already been sharing significant amount of their profit with their shareholders and the management has expressed their vision to maximise the shareholders return each year. Their vision will no doubt not only make the shareholders satisfy, but also to influence them investing more towards the company for enhancing growth and development of the Ashtead Group. Strategy Build a Broad Platform for Growth The company is largely operating within both the US and the UK. However, the primary strategic target of the company is the US, where they would like to double their growth and profit. The US market is almost five times larger than the UK and the Ashtead Group is the key supplier of infrastructure equipments in the US right now. Rental penetration in the US is approaching 50% and the major contractors in the US prefer renting the equipments rather than owing them. The equipment rental industry in the UK is emerging and the company Ashtead Group has the financial strength and organizational capabilities, which are helping the company to gain competitive advantages over various inefficient competitors in the US market. However, the company is also concentrating on the UK, where they would like to enhance their market share by 50%. The company is also concentrating on Bolt-on Mergers and Acquisitions (MA), developing clusters within key sectors and on organic fleet growth (Ashtead-group.com, 2015). As the management have foreseen that there are maximum amount of unoccupied market, enhancing demand and presence of ineffective rivals, the management of Ashtead Group is concentrating upon developing a broader business platform, which will have maximum opportunities and growth prospects. Maintain Financial and Operational Flexibility The management of Ashtead Group has taken various strategic initiatives for maintain financial and operational flexibility for supporting their business from both long-term and short-term perspectives. Although, the economic conditions are not favourable and the market competition is increasing, but the group is holding ROI at 19%. The company has been also able to maintain their leverage mostly below net debt to EBITDA. This represent that the company is maintaining financial discipline. The company is also utilising their financial stability and strength for optimising their fleet sector during cyclical upturn (Ashtead-group.com, 2015). The management of Ashtead Group has expressed that the company needs to maintain effective collaboration and flexibility within their finance department and operational department, which are the key units for their business and have significance importance towards achieving sustainable growth and long-term development. Financial flexibility enables them to deal all the operating costs and shareholders return. On the other hand, it also helps them to implement any growth and development strategies effectively. Operational Excellence The management of Ashtead Group has taken various initiatives for improving the efficiency of their operational activities. They are considering fleet on rent, EBITDA, ROI, staff turnover and safety as their key performance indicators. Operational excellence is something that the management and the board of directors of Ashtead Group are trying to concentrate upon widely for gaining sustainable improvisation within their organization using various policies, strategies and modern management techniques. The management of Ashtead Group is mostly considering enhancing operational efficiency by enhancing maximising their operational performance, innovation, effective collaboration, financial and operational flexibility and improving shareholders profit. They are also focusing upon improving their services (Ashtead-group.com, 2015). Balanced Scorecard - Ashtead Group Financial Perspective Goal Key Performance Indicators Target Action or Initiative 1. Revenue Enhancing revenue Revenue from the group Fleet on Rent Market Share Revenue from the group to be enhanced by 19.82% Increased to almost 2700 (US Fleet on Rent) Increased to almost 350 (UK Fleet on Rent) Increased by 50% (UK Market) Increased by 100% (US Market) Greenfield development Improvisation towards product mix Mergers Acquisition (Bolt-on) Similar organic store fleet expansion 2. Shareholder Enhancing return of the shareholder Underlying EPS Dividend per share Underlying EPS to be enhanced by 63p Dividend per share to be increased to almost 20p Maintaining an effective dividend policy with the consideration towards both cash generation and profitability 3. Cash Flow Maintaining Strong and Stable Cash Flow Net Debt Underlying EBITDA margin to be 47% Frequently reviewing the capital structure of the group Adopting a conventional financial policy Maintaining long-term debt maturities Using asset based facilities Minimising debt commitments 4. Profitability Improving Return on Investment and Profit Return on Investment Underlying PBT Underlying PBT to be 403.6 ROI to be enhanced by 19% Monitoring and Managing fleet investment effectively Appropriate incentive for improving return Focusing upon greater return Flexibility towards the pricing structures Optimising utilisation rates and returns Table 1: Financial Perspective - Ashtead Group (Source: Created By Author) Financial perspective implies financial performance of Ashtead group. The company is financially stable. However, they must consider enhancing their profitability for increasing return on investments, as earning profit is the major objective of any profit-making organizations like the Ashtead group. The management of the company may enhance their profitability by implementing various strategies such as managing fleet investment effectively, making the pricing structure flexible etc. Increasing profitability will also have an impact upon the revenue and the shareholders profit, which can be increased by various activities such as Greenfield development, improvisation towards product mix and bolt-on Mergers Acquisition. The company should also consider maintaining continuous cash flow by revising their capital structure, debt maturities and financial policies. In addition, the management should revise their divided distribution policies to enhance return of the shareholders in order t o encourage them for more investments. Internal Business Processes Perspective Goal Key Performance Indicators Target Action or Initiative 1. Fleet Management Enhancing efficiency of the fleet Utilising physically Age of the fleet Maintaining between 60% and 80% More than 2 years in the US More than 3 years in the UK Adopting a model with clustered model Maintaining standardised fleet Ensuring adequate stores for offering wider range of equipment 2. Safety Ensuring Safety Reporting of Diseases, Injuries, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations Less than 50% Improvising health and safety policies Cultivating safety culture Safety with suppliers and customers Induction training programme 3. Delivery Management Improvising Delivery Cost Recovery and Minimising Respond Time Delivery Time Lead Time Delivery Cost 10% reduction throughout 10% reduction throughout 20% reduction throughout Improving and monitoring organization of the stress and loading of the delivery trucks Training Optimising pick-up and delivery routes 4. Quality of the Services Ensuring Superior Quality of the Services Perfect Order Almost 100% Monitoring Quality of the Services Frequent improvement initiatives Be responsive Table 2: Internal Business Processes Perspective - Ashtead Group (Source: Created By Author) The management of Ashtead Group must concentrate improvising their internal business process by enhancing fleet efficiency, ensuring safety, improving delivery costs and by offering superior customers services. The management should concentrate more upon renovating their organization culture. In addition, continuous campaigns regarding training and development are also essential. Customer Perspective Goal Key Performance Indicators Target Action or Initiative 1. Customer Loyalty Ensuring Customer Loyalty Net Promote Score Annual Customer Spend Greater than 60% Increase by 25% Customer loyalty programme Special discounts Rewards for References 2. Customer Satisfaction Satisfying the customers Customer Complaints Responsive time Less than 10% Less than 1 business day Understanding needs and expectations of the customers Differentiating fleet and service for providing better quality of service Cost effective rental solution 3. Branding Enhancing Brand value Market share Brand rank Increased by 50% (UK Market) Increased by 100% (US Market) Top 5 brand Promotion and advertisements through effective medium Initiating campaigns 4. Customer Retention Enhancing Customer Retention Fleet on rent (on-going) Increase by 10% Offering discounts Pricing scheme development Table 3: Customer Perspective - Ashtead Group (Source: Created By Author) Customer perspective includes various aspects associated with the customers, who are the key to success for the group. The management must consider satisfy their customers for enhancing customer loyalty, customer retention and brand value. The management could fulfil such objectives by concentrating upon customer services, pricing scheme, discounts, promotion and advertisements. Innovation, Learning and Growth Goal Key Performance Indicators Target Action or Initiative 1. CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility Committing towards Sustainability Revenue intensity ratio GHG Emission Less than to 120 Less than 2000,000 and 35,000 (scope 1 and 2) Upgrading lighting Training on maintenance Continuing Tier 4 lower emission equipment Fuel efficiency and carbon emission Considering renewable energy resources 2. Developing Skills Enhancing employee skills Average training hours Greater than 8 Hours On the Job training Formulating and implementing new learning management system Apprenticeship programmes 3. Employee Retention Improving Employee Retention Staff turnover rate Less than 15% Competitive salary Reward and recognition Workforce diversity and equal opportunities Health and Safety working environment 4. Innovation and Technology Developing Innovative Technology IT outages Less than 15 Utilising the latest technologies Investing towards leading technologies for having real-time access to fleet pricing and availability Table 4: Innovation, Learning and Growth - Ashtead Group (Source: Created By Author) Innovation, Learning and Growth perspective include Committing towards Sustainability, Enhancing employee skills, Improving Employee Retention and Developing Innovative Technology. The tool of balance scorecard helps an organization to prepare a dashboard of all the activities. For example, the balance scorecard indicators of the element of finance are ROI, Return on Investment (ROI), Net Debt and Leverage at Constant Exchange Rates, Dollar Utilization, Underlying EBITDA Margin, etc. Several initiatives have been linked with the key performance indicators of the several elements of the firm. The actual and target element has also been analyzed regarding the elements of finance, internal business process, customer, learning, and growth. Based on the findings of the balance scorecard, the organization Ashtead Group can respond appropriately to attain their strategic goals. Balancing the balance scorecard ELEMENT NUMBER OF MATRICES TOTAL WEIGHTED PERCENTAGE FINANCE 4 25% INTERNAL BUSINESS PROCESSES 4 25% INNOVATION, LEARNING AND GROWTH 4 25% CUSTOMER 4 25% TOTAL 16 100% Table 5: Balanced Scorecard - Ashtead Group (Source: Keyes, 2010) According to the above table (Table 5), the four perspectives are balanced consistently in the Balanced Scorecard for striking a balance in achieving the vision and strategy set out by the management of Ashtead Group. The major rationale behind this is that the four perspectives are closely associated to each other and all four perspectives contribute equally towards the success of the business. Strategic Map - Ashtead Group Figure 1: Strategic Map - Ashtead Group (Source: Windolph and Hlle, 2011) The key strategic goals of the company Ashtead Group are to retain and enhance their position in the industry and to offer diverse range of products and services to the customers for enhancing market share (Uysal and Katipoglu, 2015). The company is also concentrating upon fleet on rent for enhancing their EBITDA margin. In addition, it will also help the company to enhance their ROI. The company is also concentrating on staff turnover and safety concerns. Employees are the key elements for achieving success and the company is trying to strengthen their employees through training and motivation (Tonchia and Quagini, 2010). In addition, the company is also giving priority to safety of the work environment. The management should consider improving EPS, ROI and the Net Debt and Leverage for enhancing shareholders return. On the other hand, the company can also consider analysing the importance of dollar utilization, EBITDA, mergers acquisitions for obtaining long-term sustainable growt h, which will help them retaining strong and leading position in the industry across the US and the UK (Uysal and Katipoglu, 2015). On the other, there are two strategic elements: employee turnover and safety, which are also essential for achieving long-term sustainable growth for the company. Safety is something, which is mandatory for the organizations to avoid any legal consequences. Administrating effectively towards safety concerns by adopting newer strategies will help the company both externally and internally. In addition, the company is also implementing new strategies for maintaining staff turnover rate under control, as employees and staffs are the ones, who will be performing the business activities and operations of Ashtead Group (Windolph and Hlle, 2011). Prioritising the Recommendations to the Board of Directors of Ashtead Group Priority 1-Minimising Operating Costs Operating costs are the costs often deducts major portion of the profits of the companies. Therefore, it is recommended for the Board of Directors of Ashtead Group to monitor their operating costs effectively in order to lower their operating costs, wherever possible. In order to minimise the operating costs, it is essential for the management of Ashtead Group to recruit, select and to retain the efficient employees, who have better knowledge and experience regarding the business operations of Ashtead Group. There are various other ways such as budgeting, planning and monitoring, which could help the company to manage their operating costs effectively (Sarkar, 2010). Construction equipments and various other equipments that require depreciation charges largely are the key products or services of Ashtead Group. Although, the management is financially capable enough to incur such charges, but those costs are something largely affecting the profit margin of the company (Langley, 2013). Priority 2- Investing towards Global Expansion The company is only concentrating after the US and the UK, especially towards the US market, which is mostly unoccupied and is emerging in terms of industry growth. However, there are many other countries such as India, China, and Dubai, where the demands of renting equipments are enhancing frequently. Many researchers have opined that most of these markets will be going to takeover major market share of the renting equipment industry within next few years. Constructions, industrialization etc. are now booming on these emerging countries, where the management of Ashtead Group can consider offering their services largely. In addition, there is less or no competition within these markets. Therefore, it can be a prospective opportunity for the management of Ashtead Group to expand their business within these economies by giving equally importance. Most of these economies are also encouraging for foreign investments. Therefore, the company Ashtead Group will mostly not going to face any business environmental issues within these countries. Global expansion will also help the company to switch around different markets, while their current market is not performing as expected. Priority 3- Concentrating more upon Mergers and Acquisitions (MA) Mergers and acquisitions are very useful for several purposes such as minimising operating costs, enhancing operational efficiency and minimising the threats from major rivals. The company management has already taken various initiatives for investing significantly towards mergers and acquisition activities (Kim, 2010). Many similar companies both in the US and in the UK are new to the industry but may influence the market and affect the market share and profitability of Ashtead Group (Burgess and Heap, 2015). However, it is important for the management of Ashtead Group to consider the companies with highest prospective in terms of operational efficiency and availability of resources, as merging or acquiring an inefficient or non-performing company may affect the profitability of the company and also may become financial burden for the management of Ashtead Group. Priority 4- Expanding the organization towards Related Industries Most of the leading and modern organizations are operating within diverse range of businesses and industries in order to obtain long-term growth and profit. However, those companies have considered expanding their business towards similar line of business in order to maintain operational excellence and to avoid loss. Although, the management of Ashtead Group has already started offering wide range of services, but they must consider expanding their business towards various other related industries such as construction and manufacturing. Construction and manufacturing industries are one of the profitable industries to operate a business. However, the companies must have financial stability to operate within construction and manufacturing industries and the management of Ashtead Group has both financial and organizational capability to start their business within these sectors. In addition, due to similar line of business, the company will not likely to get any issue and their manageme nt can effectively deal with the business and operations of such industry. It will not only help the company to enhance their profitability, but also to help enhance their brand value throughout the world. Limitations Limitation 1 The tool of balance scorecard has several limitations. The major limitation lies in the fact that it is very difficult to implement in practical life due to several technical factors. Balance scorecard do not considers other factors related to the business environment. Therefore, the key performance indicators may not reflect a true picture of the operating activities of the business firm. External business environment may cause several fluctuations in the targeted activities of the balance scorecard. Due to this reason, business organizations may be forced to ignore Limitation 2 Balance scorecard does not consider the size and nature of the modern business organizations. Therefore, it is not possible for the business organizations to implement the tool of balance scorecard within their system. It can be considered as a major limitation for the modern business organization. Critical Evaluation and Discussions Performance management and monitoring both are critical and essential management process, which can be effectively implemented appropriate usage of balanced scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 2010). In the current study, the balanced scorecard represents the strategic goals of the management of Ashtead Group and the actual performance of the management of Ashtead Group throughout the year (Easton et al. 2015). Therefore, this is an opportunity for the management consultants to use the balanced scorecard for justifying whether the company Ashtead Group is performing up to the expectations of their management and board of directors. Therefore, the balance scorecard will not only help monitoring the performance of Ashtead Group, but also will assist managing their performance effectively (Balancedscorecard.org, 2015). The balanced scorecard also helps revealing the necessary activities, which are aligned with the vision and strategy of the Ashtead Group (Keyes, 2010). Therefore, it helps identifying the most essential management activities, which need to be further enhancing (Windolph and Hlle, 2011). For example, as per the developed balanced scorecard in the current study, it can be inferred that the management Ashtead Group was expecting their EBITDA to be around 45% - 50%. However, they achieved 47%, which is better than the previous financial year. Therefore, the company has been able to improve their EBITDA, but they have to maximise their business performance to enhance EBITDA to attain their estimated target, which was set according to the expectation of leading the industry effectively (Nielsen and Nielsen, 2015). Conclusion The current study concludes that EBITDA margin of Ashtead Group is lower than the industry average but their ROI is stable. This is why the company is able to maintain their profitability and shareholders return. Therefore, the Board of Directors of Ashtead Group should consider improving their EBITDA for enhancing their leading position in the renting equipment industry throughout the UK and the US. However, the financial ratios are suggesting that the company is profitable. In addition, the study also concludes that the company Ashtead Group has also started concentrating upon diverse range of products and services, especially upon the fleet on rent for enhancing both shareholders return and their position within the industry of renting equipments. Reference List Books Burgess, T. and Heap, J. (2015). Performance measurement and management of professional and knowledge work. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited Easton, P., Halsey, R., McAnally, M., Hartgraves, A. and Morse, W. (2015). Financial managerial accounting for MBAs Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (2010). The balanced scorecard. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press Keyes, J. (2010). Implementing the project management balanced scorecard. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Tonchia, S. and Quagini, L. (2010). Performance measurement. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Journals Aras, G., Aybars, A. and Kutlu, O. (2010). Managing corporate performance. Int J Productivity Perf Mgmt, 59(3), pp.229-254 Kim, Y. (2010). Measuring the value of succession planning and management: A qualitative study of multinational companies. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 23(2), pp.5-31 Langley, J. (2013). Use data effectively to align people strategy with business goals. Strategic HR Review, 12(5) Nielsen, S. and Nielsen, E. (2015). The Balanced Scorecard and the Strategic Learning Process: A System Dynamics Modeling Approach. Advances in Decision Sciences, 2015, pp.1-20 Sarkar, D. (2010). Learning to identify problems: A performance improvement imperative. Performance Improvement, 49(10), pp.5-7 Sennels, M. (2011). What will help engage employees in the companys changing goals?. Strategic HR Review, 10(3) Taticchi, P. (2010). Performance measurement and management: what is next?. Int J Productivity Perf Mgmt, 59(2) Uysal, G. and Katipoglu, Y. (2015). Strategic Management of Finance Theory: Use Balanced Scorecard in Finance Theory. Journal of Business and Economics, 6(5), pp.984-987 Windolph, M. and Hlle, J. (2011). Balanced Scorecard und Strategy Map. CON, 23(6), pp.304-307 Websites Ashtead-group.com, (2015). Our strategic priorities. [online] Ashtead-group.com. Available at: https://www.ashtead-group.com/aboutus/ourstrategicpriorities.aspx [Accessed 1 Sep. 2015] Balancedscorecard.org, (2015). What is the Balanced Scorecard?. [online] Available at: https://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/About-the-Balanced-Scorecard [Accessed 1 Sep. 2015]

Women in the Bible free essay sample

A comparison of three women in the Bible Sarah, Rebecca and Hannah. This paper examines three women in the Old Testament. Sarah, Rebecca and Hannah. The writer discusses the significance that these women had in the Old Testament but also how they influence people today. The womens movement of the 1960s and 1970s changed the face of women forever. Before that the women in the world, including America, were considered second in command, or less than men inmost settings. When one studies the Old Testament however one will see that women were given a significant role in the bible. Three women from the Old Testament, Sarah, Rebekah and Hannah were important players in the unfolding of the faith. Each of them not only played significant roles in the bible, but they also taught the world principles to carry them even today.

How You Can Get ACT Accommodations Complete Guide

How You Can Get ACT Accommodations Complete Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips On the ACT, students with disabilities or other conditions might need accommodations, such as extra time or frequent breaks. But how do you get accommodations like extra time on the ACT? This in-depth guide will teach you about the process of applying for accommodations and which accommodations are most common. You want to do your best on the ACT- disability or other condition aside- so read on to learn about how to get the ACT accommodations you need. The Basics of ACT Accommodations To get ACT accommodations, you must work with your school to submit a request. Unfortunately, this means that requests can unfortunately take a little while to process- usually at least two weeks. Furthermore, getting accommodations approved isn’t easy. In most cases, you have to submit extensive documentation and even be prepared to resubmit information or appeal a decision. The documentation needed, the type of accommodations you request, and the process will vary by condition and/or disability. While we can’t list the ins and outs of documentation for every single disability category, we can provide a detailed overview of the process as well as information about documentation to help you get started. What Accommodations Can I Get on the ACT? There are four broad categories of accommodations you can get on the ACT: Accommodations but no extra time:Common accommodations include large-print test booklets, small group testing, rooms with wheelchair access, stop-the-clock timing, medical supplies or food in the testing room, and visual time signals. Extended time, or specifically, time and a half for the test:This comes out to five hours for the ACT, and five hours and 45 minutes for the ACT Plus Writing. Extended time may be combined with accommodations from the list above. Special testing:This includes more than extended time. These accommodations including a different test format such as Braille, use of a scribe for your essay, or testing over multiple days. For special testing, the testing is done at your school instead of a National Testing Center and isproctored by a coordinator who meets ACT qualifications. English learner supports: As of 2017,test takers whose native language is not English may request special ESL support on the ACT. These accommodations includeextra time, the use of an approved bilingual dictionary, and translated test instructions; they donotinclude translated test questions. Special testing is reserved for very serious disabilities and conditions, or for students who need accommodations outside the US and Canada. For example, if you have a condition that prevents you from writing independently, if you need the test in a different format such as Braille, or if you typically receive more than time and a half for regular tests at school as part of your IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or 504 Plan, you may qualify for special testing. Essentially, if your condition prevents you from taking the ACT in a National Test Center in one sitting, or without significant format changes, you may qualify for special testing. So which accommodations should you request? This will depend on your needs. Obviously, special testing is the hardest to obtain as it is reserved students with testing needs that differ the most from usual ACT testing procedure. A good guide as to which ACT testing accommodations you will receive is to consider the testing accommodations you already receive at school. Your ACT testing accommodations will probably match the accommodations you already receive.For example, if you're usually given extra time for tests, you'd likely benefit from extended time on the ACT. If you're able to test in a National Testing Center as long as you have certain accommodations, you should request one of the first two options, as the approval process will be somewhat easier. How Do I Qualify for ACT Accommodations? Only students with documented disabilities or conditions (including non-native speakers of English) qualify for accommodations on the ACT. The qualification process and documentation needed will vary by disability/condition and when you received your diagnosis. As a basic rule of thumb, the more recent your diagnosis is and/or the fewer accommodations you receive in school, the more detailed documentation you'll have to provide. There are two broad categories of documentation you will need: Record of your accommodations in school:You’ll need to have qualified officials at your school send documentation of your IEP (Individualized Education Plan), Section 504 Plan, or other Official Accommodations Plan you have in place. If you haven’t been receiving accommodations, you'll have to provide a detailed explanation as to why you haven’t used academic accommodations in the past and why you need them for the ACT. Complete diagnostic documentation of your disability or condition: Documentation must be up to date, and the timeline varies by condition. For instance, if you are seeking accommodation for ADHD, the diagnostic results cannot be more than three years old, and you must also include evidence that you were diagnosed before the age of 12. You won't need to give complete diagnostic documentation if your diagnosis was reconfirmed within one year prior to your request and it's more than three years old.In this case, ACT, Inc. will accept your school’s verification of having documentation on file, though they reserve the right to request that documentation at any point. Basically, if you’ve had your condition for a long time, your IEP or 504 Plan was updated in the past year,and you received diagnostic testing that reconfirmed a persistent diagnosis, ACT, Inc. will not request complete documentation. The disability categories that ACT, Inc. approves requests for are as follows: Learning Disabilities Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Psychiatric Disorders (Mood or Anxiety Disorders or Serious and Persistent Mental Illness) Visual Impairment Hearing Impairment Autism, Asperger's Disorder, Pervasive Development Disorder or Autism Spectrum Disorder Speech and Language Disorders Medical Conditions Traumatic Brain Injuries If you don't see your condition here, be sure to visit the ACT's website to view a complete list of eligible conditions (and the documentation you'll need to submit for each). As previously mentioned, non-native English speakers may also request English learner support on the ACT. You'll need to meet one or more of the following in order to qualify for special language support on the test: Trouble speaking, reading, writing, or understanding English Enrollment in an English-language support program at school Receipt of requested supports on classroom tests through a formalized plan Results from a suitable English-language assessment that indicate the student's limited proficiency in the language You might need to submit supporting documentation as well, such as an EL Plan, confirmation of your attendance in an English-language program, or an official accommodations plan. For more information about English-proficiency documentation, see the official ACT English Learner Support Documentation guide. Example of ACT Documentation for a Learning Disability The documentation required is different depending on what condition you are applying for, but generally it follows seven basic guidelines: The diagnosis is clearly stated. The information is current Educational, developmental, and medical history is presented. The diagnosis is supported. The functional limitation is described. Recommendation accommodations are justified. Evaluators’ professional credentials are established. As an example, let’s look at the documentation required for a learning disability- one of the most common disability categories in schools. You'd need to submit all the following to document your condition: A description of your learning disability and its developmental history. This includes a history of how your learning disability has affected you in school and a diagnostic history. A neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation that includes results of an intellectual assessment using a "complete and comprehensive battery." If you’re on an IEP at school, the testing you did to be placed on the IEP would likely meet this requirement. If you’re not on an IEP or didn’t get this testing, you might have to go to an outside source to get the complete the appropriate testing. Results of a complete achievement battery. Again, the testing you were given for your IEP would likely include this, though it’s possible to get this testing done outside of school as well. Other assessments for consideration of a differential diagnosis from co-existing neurological or psychiatric disorders. ACT, Inc. doesn’t just want to know how you were diagnosed with your learning disability; they also want to know about any other assessments you received for different possible disorders. Specific diagnosis and evidence that alternative explanations for your disorder were ruled out. Again, ACT, Inc. doesn’t simply want evidence of your learning disability but also proof that other possibilities were considered and then discarded. Description of your limitations and a rationale for the recommended test accommodations. This part of the documentation is incredibly important because it's where you'll explain how your learning disability limits you in school and why you need the accommodations you’re requesting. It’s basically your argument for why you need ACT accommodations. Whew! That’s a lot of paperwork. And that's just the documentation required for one disability. Be sure your documentation is complete and has been verified by professionals, including your doctor(s) and school officials. Remember, the documentation needed changes based on the disability. For a complete guide, including the exact documentation needed for each condition, seeACT, Inc.’s Policy for Documentation. If you’ve never had an IEP meeting, accommodations might be more difficult to get. How to Get Accommodations on the ACT, Step by Step Now that you know what documentation you need and the qualification standards, let’s learn how to actually submit your request for accommodations on the ACT. (You can also get an overview of how accommodations work by readingACT, Inc.'s Quick Start Guide.) Step 1: Register for the ACT online, making sure to list your preferred test center, and sign up before the deadline of your preferred test date. When you register, you'll indicate which kind of accommodation you need for the test. Step 2: Once you’ve registered for the ACT, you'll receive an email from ACT, Inc.This email will explain how to work with your school to submit a request for accommodations on the test. Forward this email to your school official, along with a filled-out Consent to Release Information to ACT PDF. Step 3: Your school official will submit your request to ACT, Inc. Within two weeks of your submission, your school official will be notified first of ACT, Inc.'s decision; he or she will then contact you with the results and explain the next steps. ACT, Inc. offers a convenient checklist of the entire accommodations request process that you can use as you work your way through the steps above. What Happens After I Submit My Request for ACT Accommodations? First of all, make sure that your school official submits your request, including all documentation, no later than the late registration deadline for that particular test date. In fact, the earlier you get your documentation submitted, the better- in case ACT, Inc. requests extra materials or documentation, which can slow the approval process. Once ACT, Inc. receives your materials, they'll pass them on for review. If you're missing important documentation, they'll notify you, and you can submit the extra materials. Your request will either be approved, sent to a specialist for further consideration, or put on hold as you're asked tosupply missing materials. Basically, if they don’t think they can approve your request, they will give you a chance to provide more evidence. The specialist will either approve or deny your request, provide a written reason why, and notify your school official of the decision (who will then notify you). If you are denied, you will be given a chance to appeal the decision and submit new materials. The entire process can take a few weeks, so be patient! Extra Tips for Getting Accommodations on the ACT As you can probably tell from the above, it's somewhat tough to get accommodations on the ACT. Because ACT accommodations are based on the accommodations you receive at school, it will be very difficult to get accommodations on the ACT if you aren't already receiving services of some kind. It should go without saying that you won’t be able to get extra time or special services if you do not have a documented disability or condition (or if you are a native English speaker). Keep in mind that there are no additional fees for accommodations. So even though it’s a complicated process to get accommodations, you should definitely request them if you need them. The ACT is a tough test, so if you typically get accommodations in school, you'll definitely want them on the ACT as well. And a final bit of advice? Ask your school for help! Don't be afraid to consult your school official and/or guidance counselor with any questions you have about ACT accommodations.Especially if you live in a state where all students are required to take the ACT, it’s highly likely that your school has helped previous students with getting accommodations. What’s Next? Even once you get your accommodations, it’s still important to study for the ACT to maximize your score. Avoid this common ACT mistake to improve your score, andcheck out our strategies to raise your ACT Writing score. Learn more about the national ACT average score and ACT score percentiles to get an idea of what score you should be aiming for. You might be curious as to what scores are considered good by various colleges. To find out, check out our guide to developing a target ACT score based on the schools you want to apply to. Wondering about what that composite ACT score represents in terms of right and wrong questions? Check out our guide to learn the ins-and-outs of ACT scoring, and get expert tips to help you use this information to your advantage. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial:

TCP Strategic management. Stakeholders Case Study

TCP Strategic management. Stakeholders - Case Study Example er-high interest, those who are more directly involved in treating the disease such as cancer experts, medical professionals, consumers and cancer advocacy groups are included. Public investors of Zeltia, as well as J&J, the companys co-venturer, as well as creditors of Zeltia, and US policy makers, with their economic and political powers are included in the high power-low interest quadrant. The key players, or stakeholders that fall under the high power-high interest quadrant include the US FDA, joint venture partners J&J and Janssen Cilag, Zeltias key research team as well as the major shareholders and board of directors. For Zeltia, the following are the categories of stakeholders, or groups with interest to the companys decision of introduction of Yondelis  ® as a drug for ovarian cancer. These stakeholders are identified according to their interests and power as apparent in the recent articles that tackle the developments concerning this decision of the company. Zeltia is a publicly-listed company in the Stocks Exchange in Spain (Grupo Zeltia 2008). A publicly-held company has a fiduciary relationship with its investors, where under some laws it is required to disclose many of its activities which could impact the value of the company. Therefore, public investors, or investors who invest in Zeltias stocks through the stock market are a group of stakeholders for the company. The public investors at large determines the dynamics that affect the stock price of the company, hence, the companys market value (Carroll 2009). As apparent in the companys annual report (Grupo Zeltia 2008, note 13), part of the companys financing includes debt. The companys debt has long-term as well as short-term debts, loans, short-term interest accrued, and financial leases. Another group of stakeholders for Zeltia include the creditors. These include the banks, the suppliers, and other financial institutions that provide loan to the company, or in any case where the financing

Elements of US Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Elements of US Culture - Essay Example Elements of US Culture In other words, for free expression of ideas, there is need of a proper social order. In addition, it can be said that allowing free expression of ideas helps reduce violence to a great extent. When people are allowed to opine publicly, they are less likely to resort to violence or armed agitation which, often, are the ways of the suppressed. Thus, the American society, from the very beginning, believes in liberalism including freedom of speech, freedom of press, equality under law, equality in all governmental provisions including education and health care. Though this freedom of thinking and expression resulted in better individual performance, and thus better overall growth, there are certain areas that witnessed a trend that is in sharp contrast to expectations and thus, having a negative impact on society. The first one among them is the family structure. Looking into the way American families have changed over these years, one can see a rather grim picture of situations. The tr aditional concept of family included a breadwinning father as the head of the family, a caretaking mother and a few children. mother and a few children. The family, in the traditional context, involved a number of basic relationships including biological, emotional, social, and economic relations. People used to turn to their families whenever they wanted physical, economic or emotional support. Thus, families acted as the basic institutions that passed culture and traditions to the future generations. However, the social changes in the twentieth century resulted in a lot of changes in the way families operate. Some such changes are active participation of females in the paid labor, medical advances resulted in effective birth control, and increasing divorce rates due to the general fall in morale. Though almost three quarters of American citizens still live in family setup, the nature of the family is totally different from that of a traditional one. Recent studies reveal that only less than one-tenth of families fit the traditional definition of family In addition, more than half of the families have no minor children; and yet another serious concern is that only twenty percent of total births are out of wedlock (Fraser 1989). Traditionally, women were raised to become dependent housewives and they did not work outside home. They were caretaking wives and the economic safety of the family was the total responsibility of the breadwinning husband. In sharp contrast, in the present generation, most females in the child-bearing age are employed. Yet another surprising trend visible is the decline visible in the employment rate of men. In addition, there are more grandparents than grandchildren for the first time in the history of America. The trend is pointing towards a social situation that is totally contradictory to the traditional concepts. Despite these shortcomings, America is looking forward to a bright future through technology and education. The present situation of education in America is rather grim. It is a tough task for the American youth to join a school or college as they have to go through the tiring task of proving why they are joining the school through essays, tests and recommendations. Furthermore, it is possible for Americans to judge the ethnicity and economic status of a student

Educators and their Perception on Children Essay Example for Free

Educators and their Perception on Children Essay Studies reveal that there has been an increasing degree of childhood challenging behavior. On a survey made by Joseph et al (2003) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004) revealed that 73% of educators perceived that children with challenging behaviors has been increasing. More importantly, educators have also been affected by such an increase of challenging behaviors as 70% of them claimed that children with such make them feel stressed, while 60% said that it has a negative effect on their job satisfaction. Since challenging behavior has been increasing at present, such also has a negative effect on teacher turnovers. In relation with it, it has also been viewed that such a character of children has a significant relationship to the educators burn out and amount of complaints that they receive from the parents. In consequence, the schools upper administration, tend to squeeze their budgets for a more costly approach and on the other hand, educators are being questioned of their efficiency. During the 1960s educators believed that the source of difficulties in their class primarily emerges from children with problem behaviors. As such, they tend to see them as bad apples that could be removed in order to maintain a more favorable environment (Long et al, 1965) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004). In fact studies of Joseph et al on 2003 revealed that 40% of educators reveal that they have removed students from their class for the past 12 months. Another problem that the educators experience is that they take the approach to children with challenging behavior as evident on their expression of frustration, anger, inadequacy, fear, guilt and stress (Strain and Joseph, 2004). In addition with this, respondents also reveal that they felt overwhelmed, undervalued and disrespected (Strain and Joseph, 2004). These feelings are clear indications that there are problems that the teacher needs to address. The educator needs to cope with these kinds of feelings in order to provide more self-control and rational thinking to be able to effectively address their students challenging behavior. Odom et al (1990) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004) also found out that a teachers openness to adopt a new approach towards teaching children could also affect the rate in which children could go through with the problems that he or she is experiencing. It has also been perceived that the amount of work that the teachers have to handle could also impact how the way the handle children with challenging behavior. For teachers who have a lot of priorities and paperwork, to ask them to do one more thing further adds to their frustration. Teachers also argue that they don’t have enough training in order to deal with this type of children. These situations in addition to their relatively low wages are also determining factors of their negative attitude towards children with challenging behavior.

Indigenous Religions of the World Essay -- Religion

Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims. The survival of indigenous religions has been faced with many challenges. In addition to the rapid spread and Christianity and Islam, a number of other factors affect their survival, including struggles associated with the â€Å"maintaining of local indigenous worldviews, languages, and environments† (McKinley, Elizabeth). The spread of popular culture from increased travel, television, radio, and the internet is a source of threat to the cultural views of indigenous people and their religious practices. Traditional indigenous clothing is being replaced with business suits and baseball caps and traditional styles of building are being replaced with the â€Å"international style† of architecture (Molloy, Michael). Science and technology is providing explanations for naturally occurring events that indigenous people have historically related to the will of the gods and indigenous artifacts originally of religious nature are being downplayed simply as indigenous works of art. For indigenous culture... ... - Survival International." Survival International. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. . 4) McKinley, Elizabeth. â€Å"Locating The Global: Culture, Language And Science Education For Indigenous Students. †International Journal of Science Education 27.2 (2005): 227-241. Academic Search Premier. Web.19 Apr. 2012. 5) Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print 6) "New Zealand Culture - Maori." New Zealand Travel and New Zealand Business. Tourism New Zealand, 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. . 7) Wilford, John Noble. "World's Language Dying Off Rapidly." Www.nytimes.com. The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2007. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. .

The Marshall Plan

THE MARSHALL PLAN By the end of World War II much of Europe was devastated. The region’s economic structure was ruined and the devastation to agriculture left millions starving and homeless. During the war, Axis powers targeted the transportation infrastructure, leaving railways, bridges, and roads in a state of severe disrepair. Much of the civilian merchant shipping industry had also suffered severe damage. Due to the economic strain placed on the European countries during the war, many had exhausted their treasuries. If not for The United State’s aid in the form of the Lend-Lease program during wartime efforts, this damage would have been much worse and the outcome may have been different. The United States however, did not suffer the same severity of destruction on its own territory. Consequently its massive agriculture and manufacturing base was still intact. For these reasons, The United States saw it necessary to offer goods, services, and monies to any European or Asian country, be it an Allied or Axis power. The U. S. continued providing aid after the war was over. Between 1945 and 1948, the U. S. ent $12 billion in aid to European Nations. The world’s major economies were crumbling and the U. S. realized the global impact. General George C. Marshall introduced a recovery plan in 1947, the European Recovery Plan or ERP. This plan, which later became known as the Marshall Plan, was the primary program for rebuilding and creating a stronger economic foundation for the countries of Western Europe during the post-war era, 1948-1952. The Marshall Plan provided an additional $13 billion in aid to European nations. Post-war relief from the U. S. totaled $25 billion. With a GDP of $258 billion, U. S. post-war investment in foreign countries totaled 10% of its GDP. For all Marshall Plan participants, the economic output was 35% higher in 1951 than the 1938 pre-war era. Poverty and starvation disappeared and Western Europe began two decades of growth in which it saw a drastic increase in the standards of living. This plan was a key element in European recovery and integration. It erased trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate a global economy. Efforts were made to model European industrial and business practices using the more efficient American models. The Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods system mandated free trade throughout the region. Through these acts, European nations standardized international exchange rates, set up the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is now part of the World Bank Group. The European Coal and Steel Community which eventually became the European Union has roots in the Marshall Plan. Today, the term â€Å"Marshall Plan† has become a metaphor for any large scale government program that is designed to solve a specific social problem. It is usually used when calling for federal spending to correct a perceived failure of the private sector. The Marshall Plan has played an integral part in establishing a global economy. References http://www. polsci. ucsb. edu/faculty/cohen/inpress/bretton. html http://www. archives. gov/exhibits/featured_documents/marshall_plan/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#Criticism http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan http://en. wikiquote. org/wiki/George_Marshall#Essentials_to_Peace_. 281953. 29 The Marshall Plan By the end of WWII the political map of the world was distinctly shaped. The former allies in anti-Hitler coalition entered into the era of ideological, military and industrial confrontation the humanity had never a chance to experience before; a confrontation used to be known as the Cold War with its iron curtain, unprecedented arm race and the support of various regimes including those which built their state doctrine on the ideology of terrorism.The political map of the post-war Europe was divided into two political camps, a pro-Soviet Eastern alliance and the Western Europe exhausted by the bloody war. The natural disasters of 1947-1947 ruined the agricultural infrastructure of some European countries. Especially damaged was transportation infrastructure, as railways, bridges, and roads had all been heavily targeted by air strikes, while much merchant shipping had been sunk.By and large the small towns and villages in Western Europe had suffered little damage, but the destruction of transportation left them economically isolated. None of these problems could be easily remedied, as most nations engaged in the war had exhausted their treasuries in its execution. With the formation of the confronting political camps the urgent political and economic actions were required first of all to reconstruct the economy of the countries opposed to the pro-Soviet block and secondly, to restrain the further expansion of the Soviet Union in Europe.The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program (ERP)) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding the allied countries of Europe and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for United States Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan. 1 In fact the Plan was offered to the Soviet Union if it accepted certain conditions like the changes in the political system and the outer control.It was understood that the conditions suggested by the US Administration would never be accepted by the Soviet rulers. The general idea of the Marshall Plan presupposed the elimination the tariffs, close economic integration and it could be said that the Plan was the beginning of the Euro integration process which is taking place nowadays. The attitude towards the idea of the European reconstruction was rather controversial in America. First of all such foreign policy was new for the United States and changed the foreign policy of the pre-war isolationism.At the same time the lessons of the WWII showed that the global security could not be provided under the isolationism doctrine. The State Department under Harry S. Truman was dedicated to pursuing an activist foreign policy, but the Congress was somewhat less interested. Originally, it was hoped that little would need to be done to rebuild Europe and that the United Kingdom and France, with the help of their c olonies, would quickly rebuild their economies.By 1947 there was still little progress, however. A series of cold winters aggravated an already poor situation. The European economies did not seem to be growing as high unemployment and food shortages led to strikes and unrest in several nations. In 1947 the European economies were still well below their pre-war levels and were showing few signs of growth. Agricultural production was 83% of 1938 levels, industrial production was 88%, and exports only 59%. 2It was the objective reality that the United States was the only country the economy of which was not seriously damaged by the war and the bipolar nature of the post WWII world needed some action restraining the Soviet influence. The ruinous effect of the WWII was the fertile soil for spreading the Communist ideas and consequently the influence of the USSR which was not limited by the ideology only but by the growing military, political and economic presence.On June, June 5, 1947 Se cretary of State George Marshall gave the address to the graduating class of Harvard University in which he stated the preparedness of the United States to give the aid to European countries. The most important provision of the speech was that the Europeans should create their own plan of the economic reconstruction and the United States would finance such reconstruction. UK and France considered it necessary to invite the Soviet Union to join the European program of the post war reconstruction.Such appeal to Stalin would exclude possibly hostility from the USSR on one hand but on the other hand it was clear that the USSR would never accept the offer because the Cold War had already started by that time by the Soviet leaders. The major reason the aid was rejected by the Soviet rulers was that the Plan presupposed the creation of the unified European economy which was incompatible with the command economy of Soviet socialism. The US Administration considered the global economic stabi lity to the guarantee of the political stability and security which was stated in Marshall Plan Speech in Harvard.â€Å"It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist†. 3The position of the Soviet Union and it allies towards the Marshall Plan was rather predictable. Soviet rulers considered the Marshall Plan to be an attempt to destroy the Soviet domination in the Eastern Europe. The USSR allies influenced by the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia rejected the offered aid. Finland also declined in order to avoid antagonizing the Soviets. The So viet Union's â€Å"alternative† to the Marshall plan, which was purported to involve Soviet subsidies and trade with eastern Europe, became known as the Molotov Plan, and later, the COMECON.4 Some scholars consider the Marshall Plan to be a milestone and even a starting point on the long term global confrontation known as the Cold War. â€Å"Our analysis of the Marshall Plan will show that it was American policies as much as (and perhaps more than) Soviet actions that finally led to the division of Europe and thus to the Cold War itself. Many historians will feel uncomfortable with this conclusion; and it is certainly not a point of view that is popular with American historians, especially now. Nor should this much surprise us.After all, the Marshall Plan has always tended to receive favorable reviews within the United States—partly because few appear inclined to think critically about an act of generosity involving something close to $13 billion;19 partly because in the context of 1947 the Marshall Plan stood in sharp contrast to its shrill predecessor, the Truman Doctrine; and partly because of the huge reputation of George Marshall, whose role in the Marshall Plan was commemorated by the British government with the scholarships that still bear his name. †5Cox and Kennedy-Pipe suggest that the Marshall Plan was one of the major reasons of the division of Europe and it led to the Cold War. But this approach looks like that which is a little bit simplified. The confrontation of the USSR and USA was unavoidable no matter what political processes took place in the post WWII globe. First of all the confrontation was originally programmed in the ideological difference of the two systems. Nowadays we can observe the nominally Communist China and Vietnam integrating in the world market economy.The modern economies of China and Vietnam have nothing common with the traditional communist command economy. It could be said that the ideological basis of the modern China and Vietnam contradicts completely to the traditional communist approach to economy when the market and the competition according to classics of Marxism-Leninism are aimed to exploitation of the working class and prosperity of the ruling class. Nobody knows what kind of confrontation would be if the Marshall Plan were not introduced.One of the possible scenarios could be that the Europe remained in ruins, Soviets gained the unlimited influence and the greater part of Europe would get involved into the crazy arm race without any restrictive factor which would lead to the new global conflict. The Marxian ideologists interpreted the Marshall Plan as the manifestation of the US neo-colonial global policy. â€Å"US imperialism has never had need to operate in the traditional manner of the British, French or German imperialisms. These countries had to acquire direct political possession of the colonial areas in order to control, subjugate and exploit them.American imp erialism, with its overwhelming capacity to produce, has always used economic penetration as its main weapon of gaining economic and political control over another country. †6 The American Marshall Plan was heavily criticized both in the United States and abroad. The opinions ranged from â€Å"the betrayal of the American interests† to â€Å"the attempt of global domination† but there was no any reasonable alternative suggested. The political aim of the Marshall Plan as it was stated above was to restrain the Soviet expansion and influence in the post War Europe and the entire world.The United States and the USSR were two global superpowers which defeated the Hitler block. At the same time as it was stated above they have basic system ideological differences which in their essence were incompatible. The United States and the USSR were destined to confrontation due to such differences. The first post – war political initiative of the USSR was the creation o f the pro-Soviet block in Europe. Germany, Italy and Japan were destructed and demoralized to oppose the growing Soviet influence. The spread of the Soviet influence created the real threat to the entire world.What is more, the situation looked like paradox because the United States assisted to strengthen the position of its ideological opponent in the world. Due to its geopolitical position the United States could not provide the symmetric political presence in Europe. The Great Britain ran its traditional isolationist policy. France was not economically and politically strong enough to oppose the Soviet influence. â€Å"If Russia came to control Europe and Asia, this control could be founded only on communist dictatorships maintained against the will of the majorities of the peoples.The mere existence of a great free country like our own, to which anti-Soviet forces could gravitate, would then be a major danger (even more than it is today) to the security of the Soviet political structure. For this reason, the Russians would inevitably focus the full force of their economic and military power upon the destruction of our society, with a view to establishing here a regime subservient to themselves which would make no further trouble for them. They would hope that in this way the conscience of the world could be finally silenced†. 7Such attitude towards position of Russia was a little bit exaggerated especially when Mr. Kennan said about the direct Russian aggression against the United States but still it indicated the real threat of Russian influence in the world. It is worth reminding that Mr. Kennan spoke about the Soviet threat to American society in 1948 when there were only two dominating military and political forces in the world, the USA and the USSR, one of which started forming the military and political block risking the superpower global balance. It is worth noting that the initial confrontation of the superpowers was the battle for minds.The Europeans with their destructed economies had the options to choose either the ideology of Communism with its dictatorship and command economy or find the way to rehabilitate their post-war economies on the basis of free market and the United States entered this battle for the sake of the Europeans. The post-war situation is similar to that of nowadays when the United States faces the problem of battling the global terrorism including the economic measures. As Gordon O. F. Johnson notes â€Å"Today we are fighting for the minds of those throughout the world who are inclined to support and sympathize with international terrorists.Just as the aim of the Marshall Plan was to â€Å"drain the swamps† where communism was drawing support, so we today must â€Å"drain the swamps† where international terrorism recruits and draws its support. †8 The outcomes of the Marshall Plan are of great significance for Europe and entire world. The most important of them is that the United States and the civilized community introduced and implemented the unprecedented tool of collective reconstruction. It is worth mentioning that the post-war European economies were rehabilitated by the Europeans themselves with the assistance of the United States.The essence of the Marshall speech at Harvard was that the European countries were supposed to reconstruct their countries themselves and the United States was not supposed to interfere into this process. That is, the United States provided only the tools for reconstruction without imposing any dictatorship. Another important outcome of the Marshall Plan was that the former enemies in the World War II succeeded to join their efforts in building the new Europe taking away the political, economic and ideological disagreements of the former enemies in the bloodiest war of the human history.The Marshall Plan apart from its economic value became the factor consolidating Europe. â€Å"The objective of the Marshall Plan wa s not to solve the problem of poverty by handouts and welfare systems, but rather to foster successful enterprises which would create productive jobs with a genuine future. Jobs and a strong middle class were key to fighting communism. They were key for Europeans to rebuild from the rubble and offer hope for their youth who were the most susceptible to the message of international communism. †8The history of the mankind knows a lot of examples when the political and economic actions were imposed from outside. The Marshall Plan gave the brilliant example when the effective assistance program had the local character. It was taken as fair and sincere action because of its transparency and the complete lack of the outer dictatorship. It had a great ideological value as well indicating that people of the countries which were completely destructed by the devastating war were able to rehabilitate their economies and rebuild their home countries. Citation 1. Wikipedia 2. Ibid 3.Text o f the Marshall Plan Speech 4. Wikipedia 5. Cox and Kennedy-Pipe 6. Homer Paxon 7. George F. Kennan 8. Gordon O. F. Johnson 9. Ibid Bibliography †¢ Marshall Plan, Wikipedia, available at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#searchInput, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Text of the Marshall Plan Speech, available at http://www. marshallfoundation. org/marshall_plan_speech_harvard. html#top, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Cox and Kennedy-Pipe, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Rethinking the Marshall Plan, available at http://www. polisci. ucla. edu/faculty/trachtenberg/cv/jcws(marshall%20orig). pdf, retrieved 9.11. 2006 †¢ Homer Paxon Marshall Plan: Road to Conquest Analysis of the American Way of Imperialism, From New International, Vol. 14 No. 5, July 1948, pp. 138-143. , available at http://www. marxists. org/history/etol/newspape/ni/vol14/no05/paxon. htm#top, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ George F. Kennan on the Strategic Background, available at http://www. marshal lfoundation. org/marshall_plan_information. html, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Gordon O. F. Johnson, Lessons for Today from the Marshall Plan, CIPE. ORG Feature Service: Technical Paper Series January 2002, available at CIPE. ORG, retrieved 9. 11. 2006.