the status of ancient egyptian women :: essays research papers

The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society Unlike the position of women in most other ancient civilizations, including that of Greece, the Egyptian woman seems to have enjoyed the same legal and economic rights as the Egyptian man-- at least in theory. This notion is reflected in Egyptian art and historical inscriptions. It is uncertain why these rights existed for the woman in Egypt but no where else in the ancient world. It may well be that such rights were ultimately related to the theoretical role of the king in Egyptian society. If the pharaoh was the personification of Egypt, and he represented the corporate personality of the Egyptian state, then men and women might not have been seen in their familiar relationships, but rather, only in regard to this royal center of society. Since Egyptian national identity would have derived from all people sharing a common relationship with the king, then in this relationship, which all men and women shared equally, they were--in a sense--equal to each other. This is not to say that Egypt was an egalitarian society. It was not. Legal distinctions in Egypt were apparently based much more upon differences in the social classes, rather than differences in gender. Rights and privileges were not uniform from one class to another, but within the given classes, it seems that equal economic and legal rights were, for the most part, accorded to both men and women. Most of the textual and archaeological evidence for the role of women that survives from prior to the New Kingdom pertains to the elite, not the common folk. At this time, it is the elite, for the most part, who leave written records or who can afford tombs that contain such records. However, from the New Kingdom onward, and certainly by the Ptolemaic Period, such evidence pertains more and more to the non-elite, i.e., to women of the middle and lower classes. Actually, the bulk of the evidence for the economic freedom of Egyptian women derives from the Ptolemaic Period. The Greek domination of Egypt, which began with the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., did not sweep away Egyptian social and political institutions. Both Egyptian and Greek systems of law and social traditions existed side-by-side in Egypt at that time. Greeks functioned within their system and Egyptians within theirs. Mixed parties of Greeks and Egyptians making contractual agreements or who were forced i nto court over legal disputes would choose which of the two legal systems in which they would base their settlements.

Market Leader vs Market Followers

The article is aiming to study how big brands are losing their market share & what changes they are bringing in their marketing strategy to cope up with the current market scenario or to regain their market share. This study is focused on leadership in Indian market on various segments, Brand loyalty, and brand differentiation. This study focus on current market scenario with changing trends of market share in various segments. Introduction Competition essentially means a fight and a monopolist enjoys a hold over the market and has control over price and customer. With the adoption of pro-competition policies by the government – Air India have been exposed to constantly losing market share in favor of private carriers like Kingfisher, Jet airways, Air Sahara, Spice Jet, Lufthansa and others. It is tough condition for the marketers, because if you are inefficient, the market forces would edge you out of the marketplace. Hence, competition means hard work. It is a constant struggle to outperform the rivals. Competition is consumer friendly, but not market friendly. Binaca is a brand that existed only in yesteryears.Binaca could not compete with the market competition & finally failed. The most remembered thing about Binaca is its conversion to Cibaca. So, why the company re-launched Binaca and not Cibaca? Cibaca changed the brand name Binaca to Cibaca when it was sold to another company. While Dabur bought Binaca, Colgate Palmolive bought Cibaca. Dabur has launched Binaca and now we have both Binaca and Cibaca in the market. (Though Binaca was toothpaste and Cibaca is currently being sold only as a toothbrush.) Brand is re-launched to leverage on past brand equity. Kelvinator India refrigerators has led a yo-yo type life till now. There have been frequent changes of ownership, which also included an 18-month stint with the enemy, Whirlpool. Worldwide, the Electrolux brand owns Kelvinator. During the period 1997-98, when Electrolux was just entering India, it did not have the capacity to hold on to the sales of Kelvinator. It had to sell it to Whirlpool to sustain sales. Whirlpool took advantage of the situation and milked the brand in that time. After the stipulated period of 18 months, Electrolux took it back. Since then, it has been contributing to a steady 65-70% of the company's revenues, a successful re-launches. Electrolux saved on a lot of costs it would have probably incurred had it launched a new brand. One of the most important assets that the marketer can possess is the trust of the customers. A brand is the interface between the marketers and the customers. It signifies the touching point between the marketing efforts and its effect on customers, either positive or negative. As the marketers are trading on the slippery ground, if they compromise on quality they can’t prevent consumer to switch brand to another. According to Rap P, Stan and Tom Collins, in their book –The great Marketing turn grounds- â€Å"The ability of the manufacturers to copy one another’s most successful product and the brand hopping encouraged by the tempting discounts may be seriously weakening the grip of the loyalty in many categories† Erosion of the brand loyalty has become one of the serious concerns now. The magazine ad week’s marketing week of US suggests that â€Å"The belief that once consumers buy a brand, they will stay there, is not true. The percentage of consumers who wished to stick to major brands dropped from 80 to 60 percent during an eight year period†. In today’s market scenario; the leaders are losing their market share & turning to followers for the sense of emergency. â€Å"Eye-catching colors and gee-whiz features aren't enough for successful products and services today. To rise above the ‘sea of sameness’, companies need to be different in a way that is elemental—and game-changing. According to HBS professor Youngme Moon.† Brand Loyalty Brand loyalty is harder to come by today as different brands are coming with too many choices and not with enough differences. Well known brands command a price premium. Japanese companies such as Sony and Toyota have built a huge brand loyal market .At the same time, developing a branded product loyal to the customer requires a great deal of long term investment, especially for advertising, promotion & packaging. Woodland is a brand that has built its brand equity on the pillars of being sturdy and durable with futuristic designs. It has also forayed into apparels and accessories. To maintain their positioning in the mind of consumer the brand has also introduced more specialized products like Yoga collection, Kids collection and the Woods collection. The brand has customized products for the adventure enthusiasts and keeps adding new technologies to make their products the ideal choice for all adventure lovers. Now, the brand has been focusing on eco-friendly products and uses raw materials that are less harmful to the environment. We’re familiar with the acronym WIIFM, which stands for â€Å"What’s in it for me?† This is the exact question that the consumers are asking themselves, and the brands need to be able to answer them properly. If they are unable to do the same the consumer will switch from one brand to another. The economics of customer retention makes a compelling case for relationship marketing. It costs approximately five times more to attract a customer than to keep a customer. So losing market share is very serious issue for market leaders at present. Brand Loyalty is the consumer's conscious or unconscious decision, expressed through intention or behavior, to repurchase a brand continually. It occurs because the consumer perceives that the brand offers the right product features, image, or level of quality at the right price. In today’s marketing environment, market advertisers are trying to break consumer habits, and helping them to acquire new habits, and reinforce those habits by reminding consumers of the value of their purchase and encourage them to continue purchasing those products in the future. The proactive approaches of rivals are compelling the market leaders to lose their market share. Brand Differentiation The brands want to remain differentiated from other brands; they will survive in the market & enjoy customer loyalty if they’ll be able to position themselves different from their competitor in the mind of consumer as well as in the market. Brands are investing on their advertising & promotion to differentiate themselves from others. FMCG major Dabur has undertaken a 360 degree rebranding exercise for its brand Real and has introduced new packaging, a new brand ambassador and communication activities. The company has reportedly spent close to Rs 7-8 crore on the whole exercise. Currently, the brand is going ahead with the 360 degree communication plan, which includes innovative OOH campaign in select cities, in-cinema advertising, TVC, radio, DTH for the very first time and print advertising, to remain differentiated from other brands. There are various ways they can achieve this aim. The brand differentiation is basically brought by positioning of brands. , some of the world's most iconic brands are starting the year with a new look. ITV has ditched its yellow and blue boxes, computer chip maker Intel has introduced a new strapline, and telecommunications giant AT&T has undergone a facelift.Airtel has taken the leap and revamped its logo, and the brand is on media overdrive to drive home the point about its new avatar. Brand differentiation can also be achieved by unique selling position of the brand and for increasing the brand value and brand equity. For every business, the health of its brand is key to its success. â€Å"The brand is the emotional heart of the business,† says Clare Salmon, director of marketing and strategy at ITV. â€Å"If the heart stops beating, the beast is going to die.† Differentiation attacks the fundamental basis of competition. It makes the product dissimilar and hence, less substitutable.† A general class of products is differentiated if any significant basis exists for distinguishing the good or service of one seller from that of another. Such a basis may be real or fancied, as long as it is of any importance whatever to buyer, and leads to a preference for one variety of the product over another.† According to Chamberlin, Edword, The theory of monopolistic competition, Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press, 1956.p.66. Current Market scenario.

Qualitative Versus Quantitative

Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research There has been a large amount of complex discussion and argument surrounding the topic of research methodology and the theory of how studies should push forward. Majority of this debate has centered on the issue of qualitative versus quantitative study. Different methods become popular at different social, political, historical and cultural times in our development, and, both methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The researcher and/or the culture of the organization is a key factor in preferred choice of methods.Data can be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data answer questions like â€Å"how many? † or â€Å"how frequently†, and are measured/reported on a numerical scale, permitting categorization of pooled data, numerical reporting, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. Qualitative data are non-numerical. Qualitative research seeks to analyze verbal discourse through interviews, written documents, or p articipatory field observations. This paper will break down both qualitative and quantitative methods individually to explain each one in depth.Also a chart will be included to understand and see the features of each side by side. In conclusion of the paper will be an example of both methods being used to understand how women felt about shopping at QuickStop stores and why. As researchers Ulin, Robinson, and Tolley (2006) have explained, three most common qualitative methods are â€Å"participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups† (p. 2. * Participant observation is appropriate for collecting data on naturally occurring behaviors in their usual contexts. In –depth interviews are optimal for collecting data on individuals’ personal histories, perspectives, and experiences, particularly when sensitive topics are being explored. * Focus groups are effective in eliciting data on the cultural norms of a group and in generating broad overviews of issu es of concern to the cultural groups or subgroups represented. Qualitative methods are typically more flexible and allow more interaction between the researcher and the study participant.For example, qualitative methods, ask mostly â€Å"open-ended† questions that are not necessarily worded in exactly the same way with each participant. In regards to open-ended questions, participants are free to respond in their own words rather than simply â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no. † Also in qualitative methods, the relationship between the researcher and the participant is often less formal than in quantitative research. Participants have the opportunity to respond more elaborately and in greater detail than is typically the case with quantitative methods.Open-ended questions have the ability to provide responses that are: * Meaningful and culturally salient to the participant * Unanticipated by the researcher * Rich and explanatory in nature The three most common sampling meth ods in qualitative research: purposive sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling. Purposive sampling, one of the most common sampling strategies, groups participants according to preselected criteria relevant to a particular research question. In quota sampling, while designing the study how many people with characteristics to include as participants.The criteria used is to focus on people that we think would be most likely to experience, know about, or have insights into the research topic. A third type of sampling, snowballing also known as chain referral sampling. In this method, participants with whom contact has already been made use their social networks to refer the researcher to other people who could potentially participate in or contribute to the study. According to Carroll (2010), â€Å"qualitative studies frequently use primary data (e. g. interviews), others involve analysis of media reports and other secondary data sources. For example, community attitudes about road safety might be explored through interviews (primary data) or by analyzing newspaper articles on rights of bicyclists (secondary data). † (pg. 3480). Quantitative research can be defined as a means for testing objective theories by examing the relationship among variables. The variables will then be measured, typically on instruments, so that numbered data can be analyzed using statistical procedures.According to Creswell (2008), â€Å"the final written report has a set structure consisting of introduction, literature and theory, methods, results, and discussion† (p. 4). You measure variables on a sample of subjects, which can be tissues, cells, animals, or humans. You then express the relationship between variable using effect statistics, such as correlations, relative frequencies, or differences between means. Features of Qualitative & Quantitative Research Qualitative| Quantitative| The aim is complete, detailed description. The aim is to classify features, cou nt them, and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed. | Researcher may only know roughly in advance what he/she is looking for. | Researcher knows clearly in advance what he/she is looking for. | Recommended during earlier phases of research projects. | Recommended during latter phases of research projects. | The design emerges as the study unfolds. | All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected. | Researcher is the data gathering instrument. Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or equipment to collect numerical data. | Data is in the form of words, pictures or objects. | Data is in the form of numbers and statistics. | Subjective-individuals interpretation of events is important, e. g. , uses participant observation, in-depth interviews etc. | Objective seeks precise measurement & analysis of target concepts, e. g. , uses surveys, questionnaires etc. | Qualitative data is more ‘rich’, time consuming, a nd less able to be generalized. | Quantitative data is more efficient, able to test hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail. Researcher tends to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter. | Researcher tends to remain objectively separated from the subject matter. | (the two quotes are from Miles & Huberman (1994, p. 40). Qualitative Data Analysis) An example with qualitative and quantitative research project was designed to understand how women felt about shopping at QuickStop stores and why. This research project was completed by Chris Hawkes, a Senior Market Researcher at MarketResearch101. At some point a staff member realized that QuickStop seemed to be patronized by many more men than women.About two dozen current or potential female customers were paid to come into a research facility to discuss the use of convenience stores in general, and later in the interviews the discussion was directed specifically to QuickStop convenience stores, in particular. Studies showe d that women viewed the convenience stores to be primarily for men, with little or no consideration for women. The bathrooms were believed to be the dirtiest that could be found in the city. It was also viewed as the kind of place for a man to buy gas, and to buy a six-pack of cheap beer and cigarettes.Once the management team had an understanding of what issues they faced they needed to use quantitative research to get numbers. For the quantitative research they conducted 250 telephone interviews with a combination of female respondents. Over 76% of all female QuickStop customers were women under 30 years old, without children. The good news is 64% who did not use QuickStop said that if these stores were to update their color schemes, clean up their bathrooms and update their health and feminine products they would be willing to try QuickStop again.In general when conducting two phases of research it’s most often the case that the qualitative research phases is conducted fir st as a â€Å"lead-in†. Qualitative research tends to help the management team understand the underlying issues, and then the second phase (quantitative in this case) helps to understand how pervasive these feelings/attitudes are among a certain target audience. References Carroll, Linda (2010). Levels of Reconstruction as complementarity in Mixed Methods Research: A Social Theory-Based Conceptual Framework for Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (p. 3480). Creswell, John (2008). Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Research Design, Third Edition. (p. 4). Hawkes, Chris (2011). Retrieved from http://www. streetdirectory. com/travel_guide. Miles & Huberman (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis. Retrieved from: http://www. gifted. uconn. edu/siegle/research/Qualitative/qualquan. htm Priscilla, Ulin. , Elizabeth, Robinson. , & Elizabeth, Tolley (2006). Qualitative Research methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide. Qualitative Methods in Public Heatlh.

Women are better parents than men Essay

Today , with the development of society, people’s living styles have changed a lot. A common phenomenon is that more and more men play a fundamental part in our daily life, they stay at home doing housework and taking care of children. However, women work outside the home. Although this trend becomes more and more popular, the importance of women dealing with educating and taking care of children can’t be replaced. That is to say: women are better parents than men. Supporters of men are better parents argue that men have enough energy to do many things such as sending children to school or keeping track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments, etc. But are these enough for bringing up a child? Of course ,the answer is No. In traditional belief: women who are not good at domestic duties will have difficulty in their family life sooner or later, so they have to get accustomed to cooking and taking care of children. Since they are teenage girls, they start to learn household tasks and raise children, so that they can become a good mother in the future. Besides, when the man are young, their mothers do everything for them, they do not need to do any housework if they don’t like. Generally, most men are not good at cooking and they are careless, which results in their children’s unwilling to be along with them. Also, women are more circumspective than men, this is women’s nature that counts as an advantage in being better parents. Women have a sharp insight, they can know what their children are thinking through careful observation. Are they happy or sad, hungry or thirsty, want to sleep or want to listen to music? And then women will try to meet their demands by appropriate methods. Mother is the person who understand her child best. Contrarily, there is always an unbridgeable gap between the father and children in a family, for father is a strict and serious men that children dare not to express their emotions, even sometimes the kid behave abnormal, the father can’t find out anything wrong. Last but not least, women are gentler and more tolerant than men, this contributes to women have more chances to contact with their kids. From very first day of pregnancy, there is a close and sacred relationship between mothers and their little babies. The belief that women’s sole responsibility is to raise their children has been deeply tooted in our society for a long time, hence, children may have a tendency to listen and confide their personal problems to them. And mothers will give them  suggestions on how to solve these problems correctly. And men are sole financial providers and have to work very hard to support family, which makes them have little chance to talk to their children and know them better. In consequence, women are considered not only better mothers but also close friends by their kids. Having said these, although men are trying their best to be a good househusband, women still outweigh them in terms of taking on child rearing.

Chocolat Essay

‘Chocolat’ a film directed by Lasse Hallstrom, centres around a small village by which on the surface may seem peaceful and in ‘tranquillity’ but beyond the surface lay many individuals and larger groups of people, families, face issues of isolation, acceptance and tolerance within the community. These major themes are portrayed through animated actors whom Hallstrom accentuates these ideas through filmic techniques. Isolation a major issue in this film and Hallstrom has conveyed this idea constantly throughout the film. The introduction of the film has shot the village from bird’s eye view and these continuous overhead shots express the isolation and disconnection the village has from the rest of the country. The scenery of mountains and large landscapes of forestry and the long river depict a peacefulness and tranquillity and also at the same time creating a sense of vastness and distance this village has from the busy civilisation of France. Vianne and her daughter Anouk are travellers and foreign to the village, were foreshadowed to be isolated individuals before they even stepped into the village. The voice over narrated, † there was once a quiet little village where people believed in tranquillity† and the slam of the church doors were magnified and the effect of the silence that came afterwards with long shots of the front of the church established the ‘tranquillity† and also the force of law and order in this village- everyone had attended church, no one was outside with other plans to do. The traditional hymn of the church was contrasted against the ethereal music and the wind sounds that weaved through the preacher’s speech. This wind signified a change. The voice over explained, † villagers held to their traditions until a sly wind blew in from the north† and a point of view shot from the wind’s perspective pushing the church doors open interrupting the silence and the preach further stresses the disturbance and changes that will occur to the village. The costuming of Vianne and Anouk represents the difference to the village as they arrived with their bright red hoods contrasting the bland, white background. As Vianne and Anouk prepare the opening of their shop, they are avoided by many of the villagers due to the negative comments spread by the Comte de The repetition of the lines, â€Å"I heard she was a†¦ † with several shots of different people one after the other emphasises the disconnection they have with Vianne. Vianne not attending church created further reason for the villagers to isolate themselves from her. Although Vianne is isolated from the community there are individuals within the community whom are isolated as well. Armand, a seventy-year old lady with diabetes, opened up to Vianne about her isolation and disassociation with her family, especially her grandson- Luke, due to conflicting personalities and views between her daughter, Caroline, and herself. The tension is evident between the mother and daughter when Luke is caught spending time with Armande. Close up shots of Armande’s and Caroline’s facial expressions demonstrated the hostility they held for each other. A full shot of both women with a wide space between them showed that not only they were physically distant but their relationship with each other is flawed. Luke, grandson of Armand, is also isolated not only from his grandmother but from his peers as well due to Caroline’s protectiveness. As Luke looks from inside through his window to where the children are playing in the snow, sounds of the children’s laughter and screams are muffled as if to put the audience in Luke’s shoes, feeling lonely, caged and having lack of fun and freedom. Josephine is also an important character who experience isolation. Josephine was insecure and living in fear under the same roof of her abusive husband. She was isolated in terms of unable to confide to a friend and she found her release instead by stealing small items. A close up shot of Josephine in church stealing a mirror from someone’s purse, and a faint smile formed on her face from the thrill of getting away with something was her release. When Josephine finally confined to Vianne about the lack of power and inequality in the relationship with her husband, we have a medium shot of her, sucessfully capturing her body language, fidgety fingers and her facial expressions displaying the enormous stress and pressure she is experience. In this film, a lack of tolerance is immense in the community of this village, Comte de Renou is intolerance at its depleting level yet the irony of him being † a patient man†, and â€Å"If I were the first Comte de Renou I would have had you out of this village as quick as you came†. Due to the Comte’s influence the villagers have avoided the chocolate cafe and is further emphasised by a shot from the inside window display of the shop with the people peering inside with curious but wary glances but never coming close to entering the shop. The tolerance that the Comte the Renou has in the act of fasting due to religious reasons. The zoom in and focusing of the enticing food that lay on his desk only to be blocked by a photo frame. A close up on his facial expression fighting the need to discipline his body after taking a deep sniff in a jam jar shows his immense ability of tolerance and control within himself. The relationship between Armande and Caroline are the perfect example of intolerance of each other. Long shots and full shots always view these women with much distance between themselves. Josephine is an individual who had endured and tolerated much under the roof of her abusive husband. When Josephine had confided to Vianne of the impossible deeds and chores she had to follow it also expressed the lack of power Josephine had over herself- much like what most women had experience in marriages at that time, â€Å"You must think I’m stupid†¦ but men do run the world† she explained. In the middle of the night Josephine pounded on Vianne’s door and a full shot of Josephine with her suitcase conveyed the rebelliousness and a decision Josephine made on her own will and the intolerance of living in fear. Although the villagers have tried to disassociate themselves from the chocolate cafe, they began to fall in love with Vianne’s chocolate and charm and have begun to tolerate their associations with her. These confused villagers have all frequented to the confessional about their sins, Hallstrom shot their confessions from behind the confession screen with a continuous fade in and fade out of each person’s confession about the temptation and satisfaction that received from tasting her chocolates, emphasising the effect Vianne has had to these villagers. Immediate action to rid off the gypsies when they settled on the river’s edge strongly expressed the prejudice the Comte de Renou and majority of the villagers had towards the gypsies. Labelling them as ‘river-rats’ and ‘drifters’ did not win the council over on approval to ostracise the gypsies because they were not on their ‘property’ by law. Due to the unsuccessful action, Comte de Renou had initiated flyers of â€Å"boycotting immorality† as the alienation and exclusion of the gypsies will bound to be successful. Shots of the fliers repeatedly being stuck on, nailed in, glued signified the participation of all villagers, except Vianne, and the lack of tolerance they hold to the outsiders. The acceptance of Vianne was a slow progress but the ice-breaker between herself and the community was by hosting Armande’s seventieth birthday party. Slow motion and extreme close-ups on the guests faces showed the great appreciation and enjoyment of the food and the respect and acceptance of Vianne. The announcement of dessert being held on Roux’s boat had the guests in silence and in hesitation but they had accepted and long shots of the scene of the people dancing to lively music with laughter on the boat demonstrated there was no longer a barrier between the gypsies and villagers. Josephine had embarked on a transformation. She is dressed in bright clothing; emphasising change, she no longer speaks in a hurried and timid tone, and smiles and laughs often. Josephine had stood up for herself instead of fleeing from a situation as seen in the scene where Georges is hit over on the head by a pan by her. Josephine had come to an acceptance of herself and has become a happier and better woman. Due to Luke’s disobedience Caroline has opened her eyes. A long shot of her mother and son having fun and over the long distance between them at Armande’s party again shows their distant relationship with the other, but a close-up on the look the women shared was a mesmerising conundrum. Caroline has come to realisation and acceptance that caging her son did not made him a happy child, and the next scene that involved Caroline was of her fixing a bicycle for Luke. The Comte de Renou had come to terms of acceptance of his broken marriage and Vianne. The Comte lost all sense of control and smashed Vianne’s window display in rage, but he gave into himself when an extreme close up on his lip and tongue licking a small speck of chocolate emphasised the humanity in the Comte. The morning the Comte woke up a high angle shot of him looking up to Vianne conveyed the extreme vulnerability and the reversed roles in this situation. The Comte gives Vianne a genuine smile at the Easter celebration, but the voice over narrates, â€Å"he took another seven months to ask Caroline out†. Vianne herself had accepted that belonging to a community is what satisfies her. The act of Vianne refusing the north wind and finally the action of her opening the window and throwing her mother’s ashes into the air symbolised the release of Vianne, the freedom her mother as the ashes are recorded flying into the wide open sky. Vianne has truly accepted that she is happiest when she belongs to a community.

How did WWII change America and the World Essay

The World War II remains the bloodiest and deadliest crisis in world history. It involved the best ever battle lines, enormous armed forces, along with the most destructive weapons in the history of the world (Martel 245). The worldwide disagreement that was regarded as or labelled World War II emanated from the 1930s great depression, a turmoil that undermined, destabilized and weakened economies, governments’ and nations around the world. For instance, in Germany, the rise of Hitler occurred partially because he alleged to be capable of transforming a destabilized Germany by then to an autonomous economic and military power that could control its destiny not only in Europe, but in the entire world as well (Martel 240). This paper therefore explores how this global conflict (WWII) changed America and the entire world. For the US, World War II constituted the most significant fiscal event of the 20th century (Higgs 53). The war’s consequences on the United States were diverse and far-reaching. It indomitably ended the great depression, and the US federal government came out from the war as a possible economic actor, capable of regulating fiscal activity and to partly control the world economy via spending and consumption. What’s more, the wartime economic explosion spurred and promoted a number of social trends. First was the job creation that paralleled the growth of industrial production, in so doing, attained what Roosevelt’s New Deal programs had been incapable to achieve (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 86). According to Higgs (58), in 1940, there were more than eight million unemployed Americans. However, by 1941, unemployment became a thing of the past. There were in fact labour shortages in numerous industries. Consequently, federal inspectors did ignore laws deterring employment of women and children (Martel 250). With little or no public outcry, several high school dropouts escalated substantially. Also, several women were absorbed in the workforce to assist make implements and munitions of war. These women were later nicknamed ‘Rosie the Riveter’ and were pivotal part of the US success in war (Martel 251). Additionally, the WWII revitalized American industries, and a lot of sectors were by the end of the war (1945) either brusquely oriented to defence production (for instance, electronics and aerospace) or entirely dependent on atomic energy (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 82). The organised labour unions were as well strengthened far beyond the depression period and became a key counter-balance to both private and government industry. Given the fact that novel employment took place in unionized workplaces, plus industries funded by the American government, the continuance of membership decision during World War II was a magnificent advantage for organized labour (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 84). As a result, organized labour increased from ten million in 1941 to approximately fifteen million by 1945. Also, about thirty six percent of the work-force in non-agricultural sector was unionized, recording the highest percentage ever in American history. Similarly, the war’s speedy technological and scientific changes continued and deepened trends commenced during the great depression and shaped lasting anticipation of continued novelty on the part of several engineers, citizens and government officials. Besides, the significant increases in individual income as well as quality of life throughout the war resulted in a number of Americans foreseeing permanent improvements to their material needs (Rindfuss, Morgan & Swicegood 85). That said, the World War II brought to an end the godless Nazi regime plus their murder machine. It as well wrecked Japan’s control over Pacific, thereby ushering in the atomic age (Martel 255). Europe that had been under authoritarian Nazi boot became under the Communist boot. Besides, the war led to medicine improvements in the world, particularly in the use of antibiotics. New-fangled forms of occupational and physical therapy to assist returning veterans and wounded soldiers were as well invented and used. What’s more, the work of individuals, such as von Braun in the Second World War greatly transformed world technology, especially rocket technology, which became a major focus during Cold War (Neufeld 164). The dramatic transformations in military technology resulted in changes to operational and tactical skills. Stanovov (1) asserted that all contemporary warfare grew from the concepts which first came from 1939-1945. The actions of pooled units, close relations of dissimilar armed services, the greatly escalated significance of radio-electronic warfare, strategic bombings, psychological and mass information warfare, to mention just some factors. The World War II became in fact total in psychological, technical and informational senses, radically transforming the prerequisites to logistical support. Moreover, it spectacularly changed the balance between small and large economies in the world platform. Whilst previously the disparity between the armed forces of a small and large country was largely quantitative, with WW2 it became qualitative, as a few nations in the world could manage to create fully-fledged nuclear-era armed forces (Stanovov 1). Finally, every great conflict, especially concerning great allies and axis, brings something unique to the art of warfare. But Second World War was outstanding in that respect. The changes in the hardware, equipment, structure and the way military forces were utilized were unique both in their significance and scope. Even WWI that first witnessed major use of war tanks, submarines and planes had never brought to fore such massive change to the world.

Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Decisions - Essay Example This also takes into consideration the fact that decision-making is impossible to be the same in every organisation of a country, in spite of similar culture. But on the whole, it would be more or less identical and definitely, it would be totally different from organisations of another culture. Various cultures have different ways of approaching a problem and solving it. It could a participatory method or the time-honoured authoritative approach, or the decision-making might involve a group, or the topmost manager could take the total responsibility of it on his shoulders. Country related cultural factors like high or low masculinity, weak and strong uncertainty avoidance, and different ways of assessing the problem can all affect the process of decision making. Even if the outcome could be poles apart, the steps of decision making are more or less the same: identifying the problem, criteria, and allocation of weights to criteria and the final decision. If problems are framed to two people, it would definitely result in at least slightly different solutions and it is not surprising that two countries with diverse backgrounds, race and culture should have organisations that would take unidentical decisions in solving a management problem3. Defining the problem itself could be from absolutely dissimilar angles. From the decision-making point of view, a wrong diagnosis of the problem could definitely lead into wrong decision-making. Sometimes managers act without complete knowledge of the problem in haste4. Identifying the relevant criteria is the next step of decision-making. Judging the weight of the criteria, so that the decision could be taken accordingly is another step. Before making a decision, it is absolutely necessary to look at the alternatives and apply them to the criteria and assess and decide on the best-suited alternative under the circumstances. If alternatives are not considered, there is always a mischance of leavin g aside a better option. Rating each alternative against each criterion is the best way of taking a decision. Only after that, a decision could be arrived at and before the final decision, its credibility, far reaching affect and its suitability should be assessed. US AND JAPAN These two countries are absolutely different from one another in race, culture and outlook. Japanese had enormous success in industrial and technological field and since then they are pitted against United States in decision making. There is a crucial point that US has a top-down decision making process, where decisions come down from the top level and the rest are expected to follow it verbatim. But Japanese still believe in conventional society, and here the decisions are made at the operating level, 'a sort of bottom-up process' and such decisions are supported and approved by the organisation at all levels. There had been speculations in both countries about the success of the other's economy and researches have gone into the decision-maki