Free Essays on Groups

Why is group forming and group development crucial to the success of businesses? Introduction A group is â€Å"a collection of one or more interacting individuals who maintain stable patterns of relationships, share common goals and perceive themselves as being a group.† Greenberg, J & Baron, R. A. (1997) Within the context of this essay I hope to prove the following hypothesis, that group forming and group development are crucial to organisations. In all aspects of society whether at home, school or work we participate in and interact with members of groups. A large organisation can be viewed as a collection of small groups (Huczynski & Buchanan 1991.) If an organisation is made up of groups then the goals, performance and effectiveness of these groups will have a direct affect on the organisation they are involved with. Content There are two types of groups formal and informal. Formal groups are created by the organisation and are intentionally designed to direct members. Informal groups develop naturally amongst organisations personnel without any direction from the management. (Greenberg, J & Baron, R. A. 1997) According to Tuckman and Jenson (1977) there are 5 stages to group development. 1. Forming. In this stage the group is formed, members meet and ground rules are set out. Failure of the group even at this early stage to clarify goals and objectives can lead to the group not working at maximum efficiency (Tuckman and Jenson 1977). 2. Storming. In this stage the group show conflict and resist control from group leaders. (Tuckman and Jenson 1977) â€Å"The good relationships and acceptance of the leadership helps the group perform well.† (Greenberg & Baron 1997) When an organisation creates a group, the leader has to be chosen not only considering the needs of the task but also the members of the group. Failure of a leader to recognise the needs of his group members could lead to a drop in... Free Essays on Groups Free Essays on Groups Why is group forming and group development crucial to the success of businesses? Introduction A group is â€Å"a collection of one or more interacting individuals who maintain stable patterns of relationships, share common goals and perceive themselves as being a group.† Greenberg, J & Baron, R. A. (1997) Within the context of this essay I hope to prove the following hypothesis, that group forming and group development are crucial to organisations. In all aspects of society whether at home, school or work we participate in and interact with members of groups. A large organisation can be viewed as a collection of small groups (Huczynski & Buchanan 1991.) If an organisation is made up of groups then the goals, performance and effectiveness of these groups will have a direct affect on the organisation they are involved with. Content There are two types of groups formal and informal. Formal groups are created by the organisation and are intentionally designed to direct members. Informal groups develop naturally amongst organisations personnel without any direction from the management. (Greenberg, J & Baron, R. A. 1997) According to Tuckman and Jenson (1977) there are 5 stages to group development. 1. Forming. In this stage the group is formed, members meet and ground rules are set out. Failure of the group even at this early stage to clarify goals and objectives can lead to the group not working at maximum efficiency (Tuckman and Jenson 1977). 2. Storming. In this stage the group show conflict and resist control from group leaders. (Tuckman and Jenson 1977) â€Å"The good relationships and acceptance of the leadership helps the group perform well.† (Greenberg & Baron 1997) When an organisation creates a group, the leader has to be chosen not only considering the needs of the task but also the members of the group. Failure of a leader to recognise the needs of his group members could lead to a drop in...

It Isnt About Luck

It Isnt About Luck You were lucky to have FundsforWriters to sell your books. I dont have that luxury. I hear this so much, in one version or another. First of all, there is no serious luck in this business. Its a matter of constantly putting yourself out there in terms of writing, publishing, appearing, working social media, fighting to be current, taking chances. There is no one right way or best way, only the way that happens to work for you at that moment in time. Frankly, I started FundsforWriters because I could NOT sell my mysteries. I wanted to be a writer and make an income from writing, so I figured any sort of reputable recognition could only help me in becoming a professional writer. As someone who loved stringing words, I walked through whatever door opened for me, wrote whatever might help me take one step further in my career. However, I had my conditions and parameters in who I wrote for and what I wrote and how I proceeded: 1) Markets had to pay. Even as a beginner, I recognized that being paid mattered not only in my pocketbook but also in the eyes of editors I pitched. They knew who paid and who didnt, and that mattered in their judgment of me. I wrote a column once for nothing, hoping to aid my resume, but after several issues, when the editor still could not afford to pay, I stepped away. And I learned that nobody cared that Id written that column. 2) I had to build and retain a following. I couldnt just write and build up credits. I had to have someplace to flaunt those credits (website, then social media) and some means to retain those people who read my work and liked it (newsletter). 3) Repetition matters. I wanted to become Google-able, which meant frequent and reputable appearances. If I wasnt on the first page of a Google search for my name, I strived to submit to enough magazines, websites, newsletters, and blogs to improve my search ranking. A book a year wasnt going to work. 4) Quality matters. Its a given that your writing quality matters, but be careful where you make your appearances. I wish I knew way back when what I know now about that. I wouldve been a tad more selective in some instances as to whom I wrote for. You might be new. You might be a struggling mid-lister. You might be seasoned and coming back into the fold, trying to remain pertinent. Fight to present yourself as strong, diligent, and reliable. Keep putting yourself out there, but dont give it away. People will respect you so much more.

Legal and Practical Aspects of Islamic Securitisation Essay

Legal and Practical Aspects of Islamic Securitisation - Essay Example The term â€Å"Islamic finance† is a recent invention having only appeared in the middle of the 1980s. Previously, any commercial activities that complied with Islam was referred to as â€Å"interest free† or â€Å"Islamic banking†. The impetus for establishing Islamic financial systems grew out of perceptions on the part of many Muslims that they existed in an essentially hostile â€Å"non-Muslim environment.† Spurred by the increase in rich oil resources during the 1973 – 1974 after a global oil crisis, oil producing Muslim countries were encouraged to implement innovative financial tools that closely resembled those used by Western businesses. In more recent times, Islamic Banking and Finance initiatives have expanded at a rapid rate throughout Muslim countries and in non-Muslim countries with large Muslim populations. As a result, Islamic Banking and Finance is gaining currency in significant Western businesses. This is an interesting and unique development given that Islamic finance is governed by the Shariah and as such is not a universal concept. The fact is the Shariah or Islamic law governs all daily activities of Muslims. From a financial perspective, the Shariah governs not only how capital can be acquired but also how it can be discharged. While wealth may be acquired, it may only be acquired by methods that are fair to all participants.

ANALYZE THE CORPORATE STRATEGY AND OPERATING ENVIRONMENT Essay

ANALYZE THE CORPORATE STRATEGY AND OPERATING ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example A business responds to its operating environment through the corporate strategy. Strategies need to be monitored with care with regular reviews and adjustments to make sure that they are focused on the accomplishment of organizational objectives. They involve the utilization of human resources and finances in a particular period of time through a comprehensive scheme that is targeted at achieving the business corporate goal. This paper is a critical analysis of the corporate strategy and operating environment. HRM actions that can improve the organization’s effectiveness have been discussed. Factors that can affect the operations of the business in a foreign country in comparison to the U.S. have been highlighted. There are several HRM actions that can contribute to the company being more effective and efficient. These include; flexible working, career development through training and upgrading the skills of supervisors. Flexibility can be achieved through various ways. These include policies on flexible hours. Flexibility of working hours allows fulfillment amongst the employees within the place of work as well as outside. This is usually beneficial to the business through improved productivity amongst the employees, which is attributed to job satisfaction. The employees are able to take care of family obligations as well as those of the work place (Bratton, and Gold, 2007). In that state, it is most likely that they will be more productive than working under tight schedules that do not allow them to take any other responsibility outside the paid work. The needs of employees towards work life balance are specific to individuals. These usually depend on the age, marital status, gender and oth er such factors (Bach, 2005). High productivity in employees is attributed to job satisfaction. Productivity in employees results when managers ensure flexibility in their objectives and careful analysis

My daughter smokes Essay Example for Free

My daughter smokes Essay We often think that refering people to supporting groups is enough to quit smoking, however how about if instead we educate them so that they wont even start smoking as walker mention peace on earth begins at home, meaning that we need to educate our children and surrounding about smoking and its concecuenses. Smoking not only causes health problems, it can also cause economic problems, and can harm those around you. Smoking can have many negative impacts regarding your health it can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, and emphysema. According to the center for disease control and prevention smoking causes 1 in 5 strokes in the United States, Menaning that a person that smokes has a higher risk of having a painful and agonizing death compare to a non-smoker person. Smoking can harm not only you but also those arounfd you. People who smoke in public make choicea for others. for example, when you smoke around a 5 year old tou are basically making a choice for them making them a second hand smoker. Also, when you start suffering smoking consequences you dont do it alone because you family will suffer along with you. In addition, smoking can not only cause health problems but economically as well. A packet of cigarettes cost o8.75 an avarage smoker smokes about 2 packets a day, which will make an average of 3200 to 6400 per year.this money can be used for food and or clothing. Also, because of the health problems that smoking will cause, smokers smokers will have to spend a alot of money on health care. In conclusion, we need to educate our familiar, and friends regarding smoking. Smoking its a very additive habit that will make you nicoti e dependent. Therefore when you try to quit it comes with withdrawal symptoms, to avoid withdrawal symtomps from smoking the best choice is to never start. Smoking will not only damege your health it will also damage you economically, and also thos around you.

Alcoholism Should Not Be Viewed As A Disease :: essays research papers fc

Most people have a confused idea of alcoholism as a disease that invades or attacks your good health. Use of such a strong word such as "disease" shapes the values and attitudes of society towards alcoholics. A major implication of the disease concept is that what is labeled a "disease" is held to be justifiable because it is involuntary. This is not so. Problem drinking is a habit in which the so-called "alcoholic" simply has decided that the benefits of drinking outweigh the liabilities; it is all a matter of personal choice. An alcoholic participates in or causes many of their own problems by their behavior and the decisions they make, so why should they be viewed as helpless victims of a "disease"(Skipper 1)? Alcoholism should not be viewed as a disease, but as an addiction brought about by the alcoholic's personal choices. What is wrong with disease theories as science is that they are tautologies; they avoid the work of understanding why people drink. People seek specific, essential human experiences from their addictive involvement. They can come to depend on such an involvement for these experiences until -- in the extreme -- the involvement is totally consuming and potentially destructive (Peele 146). The idea that alcoholism is a "disease", which is only typified by the loss of control, was only sanctioned by the American Medical Association in 1956 (Wilbanks 39). The AMA gives the following definition for alcoholism: " Alcoholism is an illness characterized by preoccupation with alcohol and loss of control over its consumption, such as to lead usually to intoxication if drinking; by chronicity, by progression and by a tendency toward relapse. It is typically associated with physical disability and impaired emotional, occupational and/or social adjustments as a direct consequence of persistent excessive use (Langone 27)". This meant that an alcoholic could now get help in a hospital, just as a person with a real disease such as diabetes or leukemia would . Moreover, the use of the words "loss of control" make it seem as though the alcoholic's free will has just been ripped away from him. On the contrary, there is no evidence that the will of the drinker has been overpowered. Besides labeling alcoholism as a disease, the AMA has also done a huge error in stating that alcoholism causes people to lose control over the consumption of alcohol. This will only negate the fact that the amount of alcohol consumed and if it is consumed at all is completely up to the drinker, not an inevitable disease that overpowers your free will.

On Education-Emerson Essay

Imaging you are the only person at a concert; now imaging yourself surrounded by other who are just as enthusiastic about the concert as you are. One may give you a certain aspect of importance, while the other could make you feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself. The situation you prefer ultimately depends on your personality, that is to say, you as an individual. Present day America has become just that, a large gathering center for individuals from all corners of the globe; the great â€Å"melting pot of the world† to say the least. With all the diversity of unique talents, ideals, beliefs, and traditions that can be found outside one’s front-door step, a few questions arise: why is individualism not sought after and praised in today’s curriculum instead of being generalized into groups as one usually is? Likewise, is our current system of education preparing young minds to be conformists while slowly killing the individual? Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the foremost intellectuals of the nineteenth century, theorized about an education system structured around the importance of the individual as its main foundation. Emerson believed that â€Å"our modes of Education aim to expedite, to save labor; to do for the masses what cannot be done for masses, what must be done reverently, one by one: say rather, the whole world is needed for the tuition of each pupil†. To put it differently, he believed the pupil may benefit more from personalized curriculums than from an education system aimed to teach by the masses to save money, time, and labor. In my opinion, from seeing the problems with our current Education system, I feel partially inclined to agree with Emerson and his idea to distance the education system from â€Å"teaching by the masses† and focus more on the individual For one, I firmly believe that today’s education system is more focused meeting the states standards and less focused on the student itself. The amount of standards an educator has to cover over the course of the year makes it nearly impossible to make individually customized teaching plans, thus the introduction of a curriculum in which everyone learns and works at the same pace. This can come at a steep price because although exposing every student to the same lesson demonstrates fairness and indiscrimination, it may also have negative repercussions on the young and inexperienced mind. In an education system like this, the individual is not valued because he is not seen as one student but generalized and group with other, whether it is by age or grade level. In the classroom for example, we are taught the basic knowledge context that everyone is expected to know, very rarely do we see any encouragement for those who want to dive in depth into a subject or personalized assistance for those who desperately need it. From my own experienced, I have always yearned to learn more about subjects I was interested in but if one cannot do that, then going to school becomes a chore. Statistics show that 8,300 high school students drop out each day (â€Å"High†). According to Buzzfeed, an online website, one of the top 5 reasons High School Students drop out is because they start finding classes uninteresting and the same can be said for college student. When the classes get dull they start centering their life’s around their jobs and eventually drop out to go in the pursuit of money. We have statistics and the reasons for the large amount of dropout backing up the fact that there is something wrong with today’s education system, yet appropriate measures to adjust the education system aren’t being made; the personal interest and curiosity of the student are not being met to inspire ones desire for knowledge. In addition to the lack of time, the reason for why individuality is not valued is due in part to the poor teacher-to-student ratio which does not do the creative mind just. Everyone needs space to think; however, we seem to be cramming in as many students as we can into one classroom, widening the teacher-to-student ration even further. One cannot master the lesson at hand if there is still a â€Å"shaky† foundation from the previous lesson due to the lack of sufficient assistance. With the fast pace that is required to meet all the requirements set forth by the United States, educators have little or no time to teach and assist those individuals who are in desperate need of attention, while at the same time neglecting to encourage, stimulate, and challenge those who fully grasp the material. The curriculum just doesn’t allow enough room for a student to show his creativity or stand out as an individual. Is it just to teach the same material to someone who learns at a slower pace and expect him to keep up with someone who is naturally inclined to that topic? Most would say no, yet this is precisely what the education system is doing. Consequently and perhaps more importantly, by doing so we may also be pushing one student too much while holding another individual back. I am afraid that in an attempt to educate everyone, we may be putting the individual at risk. Our current education systems have failed to comprehend that every individual is different and there is no one way to teach everyone. In short, we may be better off, as Emerson believes, to leave our traditional ways of teachings and focus on the individual. Furthermore, in my opinion the current curriculum is promoting conformism by establishing certain guidelines that encourage us to stay within the â€Å"normal† knowledge one should know. This strictness towards what is taught and what is not, what is acceptable and what is not allowed may be killing the young minds creativity and curiosity for knowledge. In essence, creating a system in which â€Å"going with the flow† is acceptable, may be leading you into a lifestyle of mediocrity. One does not have to go far to find conformism being taught at a very young age. For instance, look at your local preschool center. At an early age one is taught to walk into the classroom in a line, almost military-like, sit down and face the board like everyone else, and are even encouraged to suppress ones true desires and pretend to pay attention to the instructor. At an age where creativity and imagination is in its prime, the curriculum is already teaching one to stay within the lines while they color and goes as far as to indicate what color a certain object or person should be. What happens when a student chooses to color an object a different color? More than likely he is not praised for his creativity and his decision to stand out as an individual but scolded for not following instructions. The current curriculum might be trying to teach them disciplined but It is also preaching the idea that he is more valued when he â€Å"goes with the flow† than when he stands on his own. Is it not those that defy the â€Å"norms† who create the foundation for new styles and those few who think â€Å"outside the box† who move our society forward yet that sort of thinking is not promoted in the curriculum. I take a look at myself, and my college experience and notice conformism is a real issue. I see fellow peers do the minimum required of the instructor to pass the class, with no intent to learn anything more than what is required; they have no aspiration to exceed their past grades and are perfectly comfortable being average. Very rarely does one see someone who is well-rounded in a specific subject go out of their way and learn more than what the instructor covered. Even to someone like me, who prefers to stand out as an individual, waiting till next week to learn something as a class sounds more tantalizing than researching on my own. When the thinking, as to when one will be exposed to information, is done for us there is little to motivate us to take learning into hour own hands: â€Å"people who blindly follow rules are going along with the crowd and conforming. They are doing what’s easiest and avoiding challenge and having to think† (Harrison). By not going out of our way of the normal â€Å"flow† of life and society we may be condemning ourselves to a mediocre lifestyle. James Cooper once said, â€Å"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than existence of mediocrity†(cooper 1). Overall, I believe that by having a general curriculum dictating when and how we learn, we may be more inclined to be satisfied with mediocrity and in turn conform to the â€Å"norms† of society. In conclusion, I strongly agree with the belief that educating the masses means slighting the individual (Emerson). The current Education system was intended to teach the masses, with respectable and admirable intents, but the system may have come too far and established an environment where creativity and individualism is a rare sight to see. There are some deep concerns with â€Å"teaching the masses† that I believe should be dealt with immediately if one wishes to move along as a society and bring to the world a new era of radical and critical thinker; that is to say, people who challenge and change the way we view the world. First off, the education system should allow for a sufficient margin of time so the educator may make certain adjustment to the curriculum based on the necessity of the students at that moment. Enough time is needed so the pupil may learn his natural pace and build his knowledge on a strong foundation. As for the intellectuals in the classroom, they should be given special modifications to the curriculum that may continue to challenge and grab his interest. Secondly, in an education system where everyone is taught the same, the speed and expectations of the classroom will almost always be that of the slowest person. This may be problematic because when you live your life doing only average work, you will conform to the idea that mediocrity is acceptable and life a life of mediocrity; never realizing your true otential. With all things considered, the ideal education system is one where its main focus is not inclined towards completing the curriculum, but one where teaching for the masses can inspire creativity in the individual by collaboration and competition with fellow peers. Overall, I agree with Emerson and I find it absolutely necessary for the education system to slowly distance itself from our present day curriculum and start focusing more on the individual to promote creat ivity and individuality.

Describe a setting in which you have collaborated

AS you grow up you are going to meet a variety of different people. Every person you meet are not going to have the same views on life as you are . 1 came to realize that when my close friend Bianca and I disagreed on the topic going to college. Bianca and I have been friends since freshman year. Surprisely we never brought up the topic of college until senior year. One day I decided to start looking at colleges online to get an idea about where I wanted to go.AS I browse through colleges on College Board Bianca called me yelling and screaming about the new preview of teen wolf season 2. I was excited too but at the time I really wasn't focus on that. I was more focus on what school I wanted to attend. I decided to ask Bianca what college she wanted to go too. To my disbelief she said she wasn't going to college. I was astonished because she was such a smart and bright student. College also is such a big thing in my family.After high school that's where you were expected to go. I ask Bianca why she didn't want to go to college she replied saying because nobody in her family has ever gone to college. Everyone in her family was expected to work and most of all her family couldn't afford it. We continue talking more and more about college. I convinced her to go because its alot of programs out there to help her to go to college almost or even free. Education is so important.It would help her to get ere dream career of becoming a nurse. As she thought about it she said she was going to take everything we talked about into consideration. At first I was astonished by the fact one of my closet friends that I known since freshman year said she wasn't attending college. Then I came to realize that everyone comes from different backgrounds and have different views on things. In the end I convinced Bianca to attend college and education is important. This fall semester we will be roommates

Aftermath of World War 1 - Treaty of Versailles

Aftermath of World War 1 - Treaty of Versailles The World Comes to Paris In the wake of the November 11, 1918 armistice which ended hostilities on the Western Front, Allied leaders gathered in Paris to begin negotiations over the peace treaties that would formally conclude the war. Convening in the Salle de lHorloge at the French Foreign Ministry on January 18, 1919, the talks initially included leaders and representatives from over thirty nations. To this crowd was added a host of journalists and lobbyists from a variety of causes. While this unwieldy mass took part in the early meetings, it was President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France, and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando of Italy who came to dominate the talks. As defeated nations, Germany, Austria, and Hungary were prohibited from attending, as was Bolshevik Russia which was in the midst of a civil war. Wilsons Goals Arriving in Paris, Wilson became the first president to travel to Europe while in office. The basis for Wilsons position at the conference was his Fourteen Points which had been instrumental in securing the armistice. Key among these was freedom of the seas, equality of trade, arms limitation, self-determination of peoples, and the formation of the League of Nations to mediate future disputes. Believing that he had an obligation to be a prominent figure at the conference, Wilson endeavored to create a more open and liberal world where democracy and liberty would be respected. French Concerns for the Conference While Wilson sought a softer peace for Germany, Clemenceau and the French wished to permanently weaken their neighbor economically and militarily. In addition to the return of Alsace-Lorraine, which had been taken by Germany following the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Clemenceau argued in favor of heavy war reparations and the separation of the Rhineland to create buffer state between France and Germany. Furthermore, Clemenceau sought British and American assurances of aid should Germany ever attack France. The British Approach While Lloyd George supported the need for war reparations, his goals for the conference were more specific than his American and French allies. Concerned first and foremost for the preservation of the British Empire, Lloyd George sought to settle territorial issues, ensure the security of France, and remove the threat of the German High Seas Fleet. While he favored the formation of the League of Nations, he discouraged Wilsons call for self-determination as it could adversely affect Britains colonies. Italys Goals The weakest of the four major victorious powers, Italy sought to ensure that it received the territory that it had been promised by the Treaty of London in 1915. This largely consisted of the Trentino, Tyrol (including Istria and Trieste), and the Dalmatian coast excluding Fiume. Heavy Italian losses and a severe budget deficit as a result of the war led to a belief that these concessions had been earned. During the talks in Paris, Orlando was constantly hampered by his inability to speak English. The Negotiations For the early part of the conference, many of the key decisions were made by the Council of Ten which was comprised of the leaders and foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. In March, it was decided that this body was too unwieldy to be effective. As a result, many of the foreign ministers and nations left conference, with talks continuing between Wilson, Lloyd George, Clemenceau, and Orlando. Key among the departures was Japan, whose emissaries were angered by a lack of respect and the conferences unwillingness to adopt a racial equality clause for the Covenant of the League of Nations. The group shrank further when the Italy was offered Trentino to the Brenner, the Dalmatian port of Zara, the island of Lagosta, and a few small German colonies in lieu of what was originally promised. Irate over this and the groups unwillingness to give Italy Fiume, Orlando departed Paris and returned home. As the talks progressed, Wilson was increasingly unable to garner acceptance of his Fourteen Points. In an effort to appease the American leader, Lloyd George and Clemenceau consented to the formation of the League of Nations. With several of the participants goals conflicting, the talks moved slowly and ultimately produced a treaty which failed to please any of the nations involved. On April 29, a German delegation, led by Foreign Minister Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau, was summoned to Versailles to receive the treaty. Upon learning of the content, the Germans protested that they had not been allowed to participate in the talks. Deeming the treatys terms a violation of honor, they withdrew from the proceedings. Terms of the Treaty of Versailles The conditions imposed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were severe and wide-ranging. Germanys military was to be limited to 100,000 men, while the once formidable Kaiserliche Marine was reduced to no more than six battleships (not to exceed 10,000 tons), 6 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats. In addition, production of military aircraft, tanks, armored cars, and poison gas was prohibited. Territorially, Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, while numerous other changes reduced Germanys size. Key among these was the loss of West Prussia to the new nation of Poland while Danzig was made a free city to ensure Polish access to the sea. The province of Saarland was transferred to League of Nations control for a period of fifteen years. At the end of this period, a plebiscite was to determine whether it returned to Germany or was made part of France. Financially, Germany was issued a war reparations bill totaling  £6.6 billion (later reduced to  £4.49 billion in 1921). This number was determined by the Inter-Allied Reparations Commission. While Wilson took a more conciliatory view on this issue, Lloyd George had worked to increase the demanded amount. The reparations required by the treaty included not only money, but a variety of goods such as steel, coal, intellectual property, and agricultural produce. This mixed approach was an effort to prevent hyperinflation in postwar Germany which would decrease the value of the reparations. Several legal restrictions were also imposed, most notably Article 231 which laid sole responsibility for the war on Germany. A controversial part of the treaty, its inclusion had been opposed by Wilson and it became known as the War Guilt Clause. Part 1 of the treaty formed the Covenant of the League of Nations which was to govern the new international organization. German Reaction Signing In Germany, the treaty provoked universal outrage, particularly Article 231. Having concluded the armistice in expectation of a treaty embodying the Fourteen Points, Germans took to the streets in protest. Unwilling to sign it, the nations first democratically-elected chancellor, Philipp Scheidemann, resigned on June 20 forcing Gustav Bauer to form a new coalition government. Assessing his options, Bauer was soon informed that army was not capable of offering meaningful resistance. Lacking any other options, he dispatched Foreign Minister Hermann Mà ¼ller and Johannes Bell to Versailles. The treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors, where the German Empire had been proclaimed in 1871, on June 28. It was ratified by the National Assembly on July 9. Allied Reaction to the Treaty Upon release of the terms, many in France were displeased and believed that Germany had been treated too leniently. Among those who commented was Marshal Ferdinand Foch who predicted with eerie precision that This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years. As a result of their displeasure, Clemenceau was voted out of office in January 1920. While the treaty was better received in London, it ran into strong opposition in Washington. The Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, worked vigorously to block its ratification. Believing that Germany had been let off too easily, Lodge also opposed the United States participation in the League of Nations on constitutional grounds. As Wilson had intentionally excluded Republicans from his peace delegation and refused to consider Lodges changes to the treaty, the opposition found strong support in Congress. Despite Wilsons efforts and appeals to the public, the Senate voted against the tr eaty on November 19, 1919. The US formally made peace through the Knox-Porter Resolution which was passed in 1921. Though Wilsons League of Nations moved forward, it did so without American participation and never became an effective arbiter of world peace. The Map Changed While the Treaty of Versailles ended conflict with Germany, the Treaties of Saint-German and Trianon concluded the war with Austria and Hungary. With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire a wealth of new nations took shape in addition to the separation of Hungary and Austria. Key among these was Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. To the north, Poland emerged as an independent state as did Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. In the east, the Ottoman Empire made peace through the Treaties of Sà ¨vres and Lausanne. Long the sick man of Europe, the Ottoman Empire was reduced in size to Turkey, while France and Britain were given mandates over Syria, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. Having aided the aided in defeating the Ottomans, the Arabs were given their own state to the south. A Stab in the Back As the postwar Germany (Weimer Republic) moved forward, resentment over the end of the war and the Treaty of Versailles continued to fester. This coalesced in the stab-in-the back legend which stated that Germanys defeat was not the fault of the military but rather due to a lack of support at home from anti-war politicians and the sabotaging of the war effort by Jews, Socialists, and Bolsheviks. As such, these parties were seen to have stabbed the military in the back as it fought the Allies. The myth was given further credence by the fact that German forces had won the war on the Eastern Front and were still on French and Belgian soil when the armistice was signed. Resonating among conservatives, nationalists, and former-military, the concept became a powerful motivating force and was embraced by the emerging National Socialist Party (Nazis). This resentment, coupled with the economic collapse of Germany due to reparation-caused hyperinflation during the 1920s, facilitated the rise of the Nazis to power under Adolf Hitler. As such, the Treaty of Versailles may be seen as leading to many of the causes of World War II in Europe. As Foch had feared, the treaty simply served as a twenty-year armistice with World War II beginning in 1939.

The Medias 5 Most Tired Asian American Stereotypes

The Medias 5 Most Tired Asian American Stereotypes Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, but in Hollywood, theyre often invisible or subject to old, tired stereotypes. Stereotypes in the media are especially harmful given that the Asian American community is woefully underrepresented on the large and small screen alike. â€Å"Only 3.8 percent of all television and theatrical roles were portrayed by Asian Pacific Islander actors in 2008, compared to 6.4 percent portrayed by Latino actors, 13.3 percent portrayed by African Americans and 72.5 percent portrayed by Caucasian actors,† according to the Screen Actors Guild. Because of this imbalance, Asian American actors have few opportunities to counteract sweeping generalizations about their racial group. In reality, Asian Americans are far more than the geeks and geishas Hollywood would have you believe. Dragon Ladies Since the days of early Hollywood, Asian American women have played â€Å"dragon ladies.† These female characters tend to be physically attractive but domineering and underhanded. Ultimately, they can’t be trusted. Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong played a series of these roles in the 1920s and contemporary actress Lucy Liu has more recently been accused of popularizing the stereotype. Wong temporarily left the United States to act in European films where she could escape being typecast as a dragon lady in Hollywood films. â€Å"I was so tired of the parts I had to play,† Wong explained in a 1933 interview quoted by the Los Angeles Times. â€Å"Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain of the piece, and so cruel a villain- murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass? We are not like that. †¦ We have our own virtues. We have our rigid code of behavior, of honor. Why do they never show these on the screen? Why should we always scheme, rob, kill?† Kung Fu Fighters When Bruce Lee became a superstar in the U.S. after the success of his 1973 film â€Å"Enter the Dragon,† the Asian American community largely took pride in his fame. In the film, Lee wasn’t portrayed as a buck-toothed imbecile, as Asian Americans had been portrayed in films such as â€Å"Breakfast at Tiffany’s.† Instead, he was strong and dignified. But before long, Hollywood began to portray all Asian Americans as martial arts experts. â€Å"So now the flipside of stereotyping is that every Asian American actor is expected to know some form of martial arts,† Tisa Chang, director of the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in New York, told ABC News. â€Å"Any casting person will say, ‘Well, do you do some martial arts?’† Since Bruce Lee’s death, Asian performers such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li have become stars in the U.S. due to their martial arts backgrounds. Geeks Asian Americans are often portrayed as geeks and technical whizzes. Not only does this stereotype surface in television shows and films but also in commercials. The Washington Post has pointed out that Asian Americans are often portrayed as technologically savvy people in ads for corporations such as Verizon, Staples, and IBM. â€Å"When Asian Americans appear in advertising, they typically are presented as the technological experts- knowledgeable, savvy, perhaps mathematically adept or intellectually gifted,† the Post reported. â€Å"They’re most often shown in ads for business-oriented or technical products- smartphones, computers, pharmaceuticals, electronic gear of all kinds.† These commercials play on existing stereotypes about Asians being intellectually and technologically superior to Westerners. Foreigners Although people of Asian descent have lived in the United States since the 1800s, Asian Americans are often portrayed as perpetual foreigners. Like Latinos, Asians in television and film often speak accented English, suggesting that they’re recent immigrants to the country. These portrayals ignore that the United States is home to generation after generation of Asian Americans. They also set up Asian Americans to be stereotyped in real life. Asian Americans often complain about how often they get asked, â€Å"Where are you from- originally?† or complimented for speaking good English when they’ve spent their entire lives in the United States. Prostitutes Asian women have routinely been featured as prostitutes and sex workers in Hollywood. The line â€Å"Me love you long time,† spoken by a Vietnamese sex worker to U.S. soldiers in the 1987 film â€Å"Full Metal Jacket,† is arguably the most famous cinematic example of an Asian woman willing to sexually debase herself for white men. â€Å"There we have the promiscuous API woman stereotype: The one in which the Asian woman wants to have sex, willing to do anything, with the white man,† wrote Tony Le in Pacific Ties magazine. â€Å"The stereotype has taken many forms, from Lotus Blossom to Miss Saigon.† Le said that 25 years of â€Å"me love you long time† jokes endure. According to the TV Tropes website, the Asian prostitute stereotype dates back to the 1960s and ’70s, when U.S. military involvement in Asia heightened. In addition to â€Å"Full Metal Jacket,† films such as â€Å"The World of Suzie Wong† notoriously featured an Asian prostitute whose love for a white man is unrequited. â€Å"Law Order: SVU† also routinely depicts Asian women as prostitutes and mail-order brides.

The Rationale behind the Separation of Powers in the Australian Essay

The Rationale behind the Separation of Powers in the Australian Political System - Essay Example Almost all of them believe that the powers must be exercised by three distinct branches, namely, an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. The rationale for this separation of powers is in part due to the assumption that it is wise for distinct powers to be used in distinct ways. Nevertheless, most significantly, the separation of powers is a means of regulating power, of preventing any single branch from becoming unduly powerful (Sharma and Sharma, 2000). Moreover, different nations have different thoughts on how to divide these three major government powers. It is not possible for one branch to become fully independent from the others because all belong to a single government. This essay argues that Australia’s partial separation of powers ensures a strong checks-and-balances mechanism and a rigid preclusion of authoritarianism. Overview The separation of the legislature, executive, and judiciary is a constitutional model that is rooted in the assumption that government is more effective if the various areas of governing are scattered among various entities that continue to be independent from each other. Advocates of the assumption normally recognise three government functions, namely, (1) law making, (2) law implementation, and (3) law interpretation-- which are the legislature, executive, and the judiciary, respectively (Smith, Vromen and Cook, 2006). Within the separation of powers, the autonomy of all the government branches is usually safeguarded by an established constitution, in order that no independent branch can lawfully infringe upon the powers of the others. In addition, according to Winterton (2006), such separation is established by prerequisites that constituents of one governmental institution cannot concurrently work in another institution and by safeguarding the term of constituents of one institution from intrusion by another institution. A prominent French scholar, Montesquieu, perfectly illustrated the rationale of the princip le of separation of powers (Sharma and Sharma, 2000, p. 548): â€Å"[T]here is no liberty, if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would be then the legislator. Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with violence and oppression. There would be the end of everything, were the same man or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise these three powers, that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and of trying the causes of individuals.† The separation of powers is a very old concept; nevertheless, it obtains its current importance from the contemporary interest in regulating governmental powers. Political scholars assumed that the public could be shielded from too much government power if the executive’s decisions had to be approved by an autonom ous legislature and may be questioned in autonomous courts. The contemporary form of separation of powers can hence be viewed as originating mainly from ‘liberalism’ instead of ‘democracy’ (Winterton 2006). Proponents of democracy at times claim that the law is supposed to represent people’s will, instead of representing a more intricate structure of separation of powers (Sharma and Sharma, 2000). In actual fact, political structures differ in the degree to which they divide powers and in the processes by which separation is attained. Contemporary liberal democratic regimes are influenced by the separation of powers principle. The separation of the three branches is a constitutional way of mitigating the existing difficulties of guaranteeing democratic governance. It contributes to a better