Does internet affect today”s children for good or bad? Essay

Internet affect today’s children in both for good and for bad. It affect them in a good way, like affecting their mental ability, because, it helps them in researching homeworks and projects or reports..and that makes them get higher scores or points at class†¦and it makes them smart too, and makes them wise too, because there are lots of difficult and uneasy ways to use computer, that makes them more confuois and want to know more about it, and try to know those things. And it affect them in a bad way too, children nowadays, are affected bt this most in a bad way. Because some children uses the internetjust for fun, like entering sites that is not for them, and searching sex videos, that makes them confuois if what it really feels when doing it, thats why lots of teenagers, specially girls, are affected by it, they are already pregnant with just the age of 16 or 17. Boys are addicted to computer games that affects their studies, their presence of mind in class, cause they get excited in dismissed, because they want to paly computer, they keep on asking money to their parents just to play games on internet, and if their parents wont give them some money, they’ll get mad and talk back to their parents†¦and it also affect their health, especially their eyes, and they almost dont eat meals just to play in the internet. So i can say that internet really affects today’s children. But they are affected most in the bad way.

Arts of the contact zone Essay

In â€Å"†Arts of the Contact Zone† Pratt gets the point across that cultures should recognize the â€Å"contact zone.† By giving examples like Poma’s writing and a homework assignment that her son had, Pratt defines the contact zone as the â€Å"meeting of cultures with asymmetric power.† (p 487) The word â€Å"cultures† refers to every type of group in my eyes, groups such as sports teams and even classrooms. A classroom can be defined as a contact zone because the Teacher and the students are the two cultures, while the power is tilted toward the teachers favor. Pratt shows one of her son’s assignments where he answered the teacher’s questions in the same sequence that they were asked, resulting in little to no freedom to students. I could relate to this because assignments my teachers have given to me are very similar. As school progressed and classes started getting harder, the classroom setting shifted from a â€Å"contact zone† to a â€Å"community.† This allows students like me to have more freedom and creativity in there assignments. Throughout the text I would define â€Å"culture† as any group of people. Before rereading the story I was able to apply culture to most parts of my life. After rereading the story with a different perspective of culture, I make it out as a more global term. Rather than thinking of individual’s lives, I thought more about civilizations. I found that along with the change of perspective comes a whole new output of the text. This is why it is important to reread the text because without doing so it would be challenging to find the meanings of all the words used. If we changed any of the meanings or views of them, it dramatically changes the points the story is trying to get across and the way the story flows.

Text analysis and report based on a systemic functional linguistic and Essay

Text analysis and report based on a systemic functional linguistic and - Essay Example Clearly, the courageously defiant tone and message of Invictus was born of the extreme hardships that dogged the heels of Henley throughout his life. Despite the loss of his leg, Henley attained some moderate success as the editor of the London Observer, and counted among his close friends the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling. He married and was blessed with a daughter named Margaret; unfortunately, fate caught up with him and he lost five-year-old Margaret to cerebral meningitis. Then in 1902, his dormant tuberculosis condition resurfaced, from which he died in 1903 at the age of 54. Understanding the travails of the poem’s author makes its legacy all the more remarkable for being the inspiration for Nelson Mandela, during his 26-year incarceration as political prisoner who championed the cause of human rights. The poem sustained the imprisoned man who, upon the lifting of apartheid in South Africa, became the nation’s President. For the purposes of this paper, the text of the poem was chosen because of the several contexts in which the poem found relevance in the lives of many people. Images connected with it are presented herein, with the text of the poem, in Appendix A. The text shall be analysed using the systemic-functional theory, and the multimodal approach. Textual analysis may only be meaningfully carried out within the context of the purpose for which the text is articulated. â€Å"Language is said to be functional because its organisation quire fundamentally reveals the purposes for which any natural language came into being† (Christie, 1999). In the analysis of the chosen text, the poet’s purpose in composing the poem and choosing his words will be given focus. Traditionally, language is described in terms of grammar and lexis viewed separately. On the other hand, lexico-grammar approach regards language as â€Å"meaning conveyance of words working in

Dangers of the Internet Pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dangers of the Internet Pornography - Essay Example However, watching internet pornography is dangerous to society because it contributes to ethical and moral degradation. The increasing accessibility to internet pornography is currently an important issue of concern to policy makers and the society. This has generated intense debate on controlling the accessibility of the content especially to young children. The legality of allowing adults access to pornographic content remains a controversial issue. However, numerous research studies on pornography demonstrates that watching the content is harmful to all people irrespective of their age. According to Bailey (32), watching pornographic content especially through the internet contributes to development of sex addiction or obsession that motivates people to commit crimes in the society. In addition, the habit wastes productive time that could be used to build careers and enhance family relationships (Bailey, 37) Watching pornographic content motivates people to commit sexual crimes Di amond (310). Various studies carried on sexual offenders demonstrate a positive relation between watching internet pornography and committing sexual crimes such as rape and sex with minors. In a study conducted by Allen, et al(140) among convicted rapists to establish the relationship between watching pornography and committing rape, 86% of the convicted rapists admitted to have been regular audience of internet pornographic content and over 60 percent of them admitted to have imitated the scenes on the pornographic content on their victims while committing the offense. A separate study by Bailey (67) established that rapists are fifteen times more likely to have been exposed to explicit pornographic content in their childhood. Similarly watching internet pornography contributes or aggravate to the development of antisocial and deviant behavior, sexual crimes and personality disorders (Bailey, 76) . Currently child pornography is a serious problem in the globe and several research s tudies have been undertaken to investigate its effect on children and the society. According to McCarthy (183), â€Å"possession of child pornographic content by an individual is a strong indicator of pedophilia. Allen, et al(147) noted that child pornography is widely applied by pedophiles to â€Å"arouse themselves sexually, to undermine the resistance, ruin the conscience and minimize inhibitions of potential children victims toward engaging in sexual intercourse with an adult. In addition, child pornographic content is used by children sexual molesters to train the minors on how to act while having sex with an adult†. Internet pornography increases the vulnerability of people to engage in deviant sexual behaviors. These behaviors include voyeurism, pedophilia, group sexual encounters and exhibitionisms among others (McCarthy, 186). Bailey (86) conducted a study on child pornographic offenders and established that 23 percent of them were suffering from pedophilia, a menta l disorder. A total of 11 percent of the offenders in the study were suffering from voyeurism and exhibitionism while 49 percent had paraphilia (Bailey, 89-96). Therefore, watching pornographic content contributes to the development of deviant sexual behaviors and is an indicator of the prevalence of the disorders in the society. The effect of watching child pornography and sexual abuse on minors has drawn considerable research findings. The conviction that watching child

Journal 14 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 14 - Assignment Example At the beginning of the story, Dunbar describes Mr. Leckler as a ‘large-souled creature with hunger for unlimited counsel.’ This is a figurative language which creates an image in the mind of the readers and appeals to the senses of sight and sound. A part from being so sweet-sounding, the imagery can be used to mean that this character is so determined and is always ready to seek for and acquire advice from others. He is a principled man who is ready to listen to the opinions of others who surround him. The author also uses imagery when he mentions the terms surcharged clouds, flash of lightening and thunder. By saying, ‘†¦from the surcharged clouds a flash of lightning broke; and there was the thunder of cannon and the rain of lead over the land,’ Dunbar was trying to create an image of a rainfall. Indeed, this imagery appeals to the sense of sight. Even if this is what it meant in that context, it can be interpreted in different ways by different cultures. According to my own culture, rainy day characterized by harsh thunder and lightning. Rainfall is a sign of satisfaction to may people since they rely on it as a chief source of water which people heavily rely on for agriculture and domestic use. Moreover, the author uses the image of trouble when Mrs. Leckler says that her husband ‘was troubled in the mind.’ This is an imagery which can be universally interpreted to mean that Mr. Leckler was worried. As a slave, he was not contented with the kind of working conditions to which he was subjected. His mind was not at peace regardless of his principled position. Lastly, Dunbar used imagery when he uses the word Yankee and says that Mr. Lecler was a calculating and scheming Yankee who could ‘let principle stand between him and his interests.’ Literally, Yankee was an inhabitant of the Northern states of USA in which slavery had been outlawed. Therefore, he could not allow himself to be enslaved

Strategic PR Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic PR Planning - Research Paper Example Additionally, Noah’s Ark aim at attaining a significant growth in the work force as well as in the services it offers. In its effort to create a strong positive relationship with public, the organization has established an effective public relations headed by Louise Baring. This entails introduction of a feedback system through which public can make their contributions on affairs of the organization. As the demand for its activities increase, Noah’s Ark has the opportunity of using social media to create a stronger PR plan. This paper covers the strategic PR plan that covers use of Friends of Noah’s as a face group account that will ensure better communication between the organization and the public. Despite the forces such high costs and disruption that would offer resistance to the plan, Noah’s Ark new PR plan will be implemented. The PR targets parents with disabled children as well as providers of care to the children requiring special needs. The PR pl an will be undertaken within a period of 26 months starting from November 2013 to December 2015. PR estimated budget is $2,080,000. To ensure that the Noah’s Ark PR plan attains its goals, the management will undertake interim and annual evaluations through the use of content analysis, emulate surveys, focus groups, ethnographic studies and feedback analysis. Introduction Noah’s Ark is an organization that is based in Australia with an aim of providing sustainable support for children who are disabled as well as those who require additional needs. Having been established in 1976, the organization provides quality professional services to the care providers and parents in order for them to acquire best options that ensure their children attain full potential. As the organization’s client base expands, Noah’s Ark has expanded its programs to include special training, regular workshops, Early Childhood Intervention Programs (ECIS), Inclusion and Professional Support Program (IPSP) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This implies that to maintain its target market that includes parents with disabled children, carers of disabled children and LACs power holders in NDIS, the organization must maintain effective public relations. Noah’s Ark values include provision of professional services, provision of expertise and extensive knowledge, maintenance of ethics and integrity, innovation and timely response to the changing needs of the society. It is in this regard that the organization has established a communication department under the leadership of Louise Baring. Holding a Bachelor of Communication in public relations, Louise has a wide experience that acts as a key strength for the organization. To meet the needs of its target market, there is need to reposition the organization as a major aspect of improving its PR. This paper will identify the public relations strategy that Noah’s Ark will emulate in order to attain its objectives and attain a competitive edge in the hospitality industry. Background Noah’s Ark should emulate a strategic PR planning in order to ensure that it builds its own capacity as well as standing up for the rights of children with disability.

Ear Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ear Disorders - Essay Example Treatment procedures usually include typical treatment modes such as yoga to cope stress in these patients and after that they could be given intratympanic corticosteroids. The function of these corticosteroids is to reduce inflammation in the endolymphatic dust. Also surgical procedures which include decreasing the pressure in the duct in order to maintain the flow of the endolymph in the vestibular system can also be applied in severe cases. But, surgical procedures usually lead to hearing loss as a complication since both the systems are very closely associated (ODonoghue et al 2000). Excessive endolymph pressure in the endolymphatic duct and the whole inner ear leads to the compression of the nerve endings of the outer and inner hair cells. Once compressed for a longer period of time these nerve endings first generate a symptom of timmitis with alternating periods of hearing loss and then if the disease is not treated these nerve cells eventually die. Since nerve cells do not have the capacity to regenerate the damage once done is usually irrereversible (ODonoghue et al

You can choose the topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You can choose the topic - Research Paper Example In the ‘experience machine’ proposed by Nozick, we may be brought to ask – how can one be infinitely happy in a setting where no knowledge or feeling of pain is evident? How is it ever possible in a virtual sphere of living to attain true happiness if in this world we have no way of distinguishing pain from pleasure since pleasure is all there is? Apart from any form of suffering or unpleasant experience, it would be difficult to figure out what being truly happy is like for our basic concept of happiness is normally derived from the notion of its opposite. Moreover, Nozick’s virtual machine, as it is by nature, would bear no potential of subjecting us to the challenges which form the essence of life as we have been significantly aware of through our regular encounter of reality. Dwelling in an ‘experience machine’ occurs to be an equivalent of living in a place where no one can be expected to pay regard for the value of ethics. All that matters herein is pleasure in its ultimate level or concentration so that each individual finds no required commitment to care or even think of someone else’s welfare. Apparently, such person may go through the typical course of virtual life in which one solely lives for oneself, a rather selfish endeavor to ponder about. To assure there could be eternal bliss in a place that mechanically generates object of happiness and takes full control of our senses to be conditioned towards the state of mirth alone and with no trace of low-spiritedness is impossible. As human beings who have initially become acquainted and accustomed to the several truths found in reality, we see our external differences from each other and know primarily that our distinct character traits from the rest of our kind exhibit the fact that each one of us is unique. Because of this, the meaning of happiness may be established as one and the

Case Study on the application of the U.N Convention on Contract for Term Paper

Case Study on the application of the U.N Convention on Contract for the International Sale of Goods - Term Paper Example Thus, it becomes evident that in the present case, it is possible to apply the CISG. The second important factor to be considered is what happens if one party fails to deliver the products within the specified date. Admittedly, according to the contract, the products were to be delivered by 15th July. However, the products were delivered only on 4th August. According to Article 33 (a) of CSIG, the seller must deliver the goods on the day fixed by or determinable from the contract. Evidently, the contract had fixed the date of delivery as 15th July. However, it seems that FireWeasel (buyer) did not give GeniuX (seller) an additional period of time of reasonable length to deliver the goods. According to Article 47, paragraph 1, the buyer may fix an additional period of time of reasonable length for performance by the seller of his obligations. However, in the present case, it seems that the buyer did not fix any additional period of time for the seller and there was no communication in this connection. So, it becomes evident that though the seller failed to deliver the goods in time, the buyer loses the legal right to claim that the contract was avoided. The third important point is what happens when the contract does not mention anything about the quality of the product ordered. It is evident from the case that the products delivered by the seller are not good enough to enable the buyer to compete in the market. Article 35 (2a) points out that unless agreed otherwise, the goods do not conform to the contract if they are not fit for the purpose for which goods of the same description are normally used. However, the case shows that the products delivered are not so bad and are only slightly inferior to other competitors. Thus, it is possible for the buyer to rely on the poor quality of the products delivered. Another important point is how and when the matter of lack of conformity should be informed by the buyer to the seller. It is pointed out in Article 39 that the buyer loses the right to claim lack of conformity if he does not give notice to the seller, specifying the nature of the lack of conformity within a reasonable time period. Evidently, the buyer in the present case has promptly informed the seller about the lack of conformity. It is seen that the product was delivered on 4th August and was inspected on 8th August. On 9th August, the lack of conformity was reported to the seller by email. Another important point is if the buyer has the responsibility to allow the seller some time to replace the products at their own expense and if the seller has the legal right to request for such chance. According to Article 47 (1), it is the duty of the buyer to fix an additional period of time of reasonable length for the seller to fulfil his obligations. However, it is seen that though the buyer informed the seller about the poor quality of the products, it did not give the seller a chance to improve the performance. It means that though the b uyer can claim that the products were of poor quality, it will not get any legal benefits as it failed to allow the seller a reasonable time to improve the performance. Now the question arises as to whether the buyer has the responsibility to pay for the products it purchased. It is pointed out in Article 53 that the buyer must pay the price for the goods and take delivery of the products in

Classical and Humanist Management Theories Essay Example for Free

Classical and Humanist Management Theories Essay â€Å"Classical and humanist management theories have had a major influenced on modern theories of leadership. Making effective use of appropriate models and theories critically examine whether this is actually the case. † Civilization is the product of those who came before us. The evolution of today’s modern management thinking has grown and developed since nineteenth century and flourished during twentieth. The twentieth century is just part of revolution management theory which started from classical theory, ranging to human relation approaches and last flourishing now. Management theory is out coming result of the interdisciplinary efforts of many people. Today the new modern theories of leadership, come up based on classical and humanist management theories, still develop and grow as an organisation. Leadership is setting a new path or vision for a cluster that they follow; a leader is the spearhead for that new direction. Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. The main difference between them comes from what happen if there is one without another. If leadership comes without management then sets a track or visualization that others follow, without considering too much how the new direction is going to be achieved. Other people then have to work hard in the trail that is left behind, picking up the pieces and making it work. Management without leadership; controls resources to uphold the current situation or confirm things happen according to already-established plans. In Organizing Genius (Addison-Wesley, 1997) Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman point out those leaders of great teams pick talent on the basis of excellence and ability to work with others. Good leaders are not afraid to hire people who know more than they do. Jack Welch has said that his biggest accomplishment has been finding great people. A leader should project responsibilities that involve a person’s competence and values. A good leader also reinforces motivation and develops ability through coaching. Leaders know how to keep their people focused. Good leaders can build incredible relationship and can build trust. The interest of leadership come in the early 20, when was considered that great leaders are born not made. The ideas and theories started developed after then. On the other hand those irreplaceable qualities of good leaders are based on beginning of management. The first management ideas, actually, were record in 3000-4000 B. C, when the pyramids were about to be build. Then the beginning of the modern organisation occurred with the theory called The Founders during the middle of the nineteenth century with the rise of the factory system. After came Pre-Classicism with Robert Owen (1771-1858) and Charles Babbage (1792-1871). And then the twentieth century becomes witness on the most memorable theories called Classical School. The Classical School of Management was period of management theory ferment and activity. It was based on improvement of management effectiveness in organisations. It wasn’t only about effectiveness in worker please but they also seek to provide needed tool for more effective work and satisfied workers. Within the classical school there are the bureaucratic management, administrative management and scientific management branches. The era of the ideas of Modern theories started with Scientific Management. Frederick Taylor put the beginning of the contemporary and still improving management. He advocated a change from the old system of personal management to a new system of scientific management. His theory argues that, each person’s job should be broken down into elements and a scientific way to perform each element should be determinate. Workers need to be careful selected and properly trained for particular job. The good corporation between management and workers is compulsory. His theory was accepted with many positive fatbacks and negativism as well. But to modern readers, he stands convicted by his own words (1975): â€Å"†¦ in almost all of the mechanic arts, the science which underlies each act of each workman is so great and amounts to so much that the workman who is best suited to actually doing the work is incapable of fully understanding this science, without the guidance and help of those who are working with him or over him, either through lack of education or through insufficient mental capacity. Scientific management come across with significant success. Taylor bring a success and to economic standpoints. Productivity met improvement because of his methods. After Scientific management come Human Relations Movement with Elton Mayos experiences in the Hawthorne Works Experiments. Mayo’s theory met success; his impacts were the creation of the industrial engineering. Max Weber – Bureaucracy come after Mayo’s scientific management. Max Weber believed that civilization was changing to pursue technically best outcomes at the outflow of emotional or humanistic content. Weber did not advocate bureaucracy; indeed, his writings show a strong caution for its excesses: †¦the more fully realized, the more bureaucracy depersonalizes itself, i. e. , the more completely it succeeds in achieving the exclusion of love, hatred, and every purely personal, especially irrational and incalculable, feeling from the execution of official tasks While Weber was basically a spectator rather than a stylish, it is pure that his forecasts have come true. His principles of an ideal bureaucracy still circle true today and many of the evils of todays bureaucracies come from their different from those ideal principles. Unfortunately, Weber was also successful in predicting that bureaucracies would have extreme difficulties dealing with individual cases. It would have been captivating to realize how Weber would have combined Mayos results into his theories. It is probable that he would have seen the group dynamics as noise in the system, warning the bureaucracys potential for both efficiency and inhumanity. In 1970s and 1980s, Charismatic Leadership states Effective leaders inspire assistants to obligate themselves to goals by interactive a visualisation, exhibiting magnetic behaviour, and setting an influential individual case, described by Weber as long with bureaucracy. He put the development of leadership based on well-known management. Henri Fayol – Administration. Fayol’s administration theories dovetail into the bureaucratic superstructure described by Weber. He believed that management has five principle roles; to control, to organise, to forecast and plan, to command and to coordinate. Fayol developed fourteen principles of administration to go along with management’s five main roles. Fayol’s five principle roles of management are still actively practiced today. Development of management and leadership had continued with Frederick Herzberg (1923-) , Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) and on. Mary Parker Follett supported for a human relations importance equal to a mechanical or operational emphasis in management. Her work contrasted with the scientific management of Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915) and evolved by Frank and Lillian Gilbert, which stressed time and motion studies. Apart of all that, in mid-1970th the Hersey–Blanchard situational leadership theory was introduced as situational leadership theory. It is a leadership theory conceived by Paul Hersey (professor) and Ken Blanchard (author). The theory argues active leadership is task-relevant and there is no solo best flair of leadership. The theory contained the following qualities as the main qualities of a good leader; telling, selling, participating and delegating. According to Hersey and Blanchard (1980); â€Å"Effective leaders need to be flexible, and must adapt themselves according to the situation†. They had separated their theory into two fundamental concepts; Leadership Style and the individual or groups Maturity level. First described above and second describes below. The individual or groups Maturity level: M1 – They absence the exact services vital for the work in pointer and are powerless and reluctant to do or to take duty for this job or task. M2 – They are still incapable to take on responsibility for the task being done; they are keen to work at the task. M3 – They are knowledgeable and talented to do the chore but nonexistence the poise to take on charge. M4 – They are experienced at the task, and relaxed with their own skill to do it well. They need to be clever and willing to not only do the task, but to take responsibility for them. In conclusion, management include and put the base on organisations, it is that organisation which makes functions, such as planning, budgeting, evaluating and facilitating. On the other hand leadership is a relationship, an essential part of an organisation. They are response for selecting talents, motivating, coaching and building trust. From Classical human approaches to the modern leader theory there were a big different, the theories will last to change and improve, but on based on the main management theories. It is clear that modern organizations are powerfully influenced by the theories of Taylor, Mayo, Weber and Fayol. Their principles have become such a solid part of modern management that it is hard to believe that these perceptions were unique and new at some opinion in history. The current idea that these impressions are common sense is strong compliment to these creators.

The Sme Growth Strategies Economics Essay

The Sme Growth Strategies Economics Essay This paper focuses on factors affecting the growth and performance of small and medium enterprises. The aim was to identify strategic factors differentiating young and long-lived growth SMEs. The empirical data consisted of 32 young (8 years or less) and 33 long-lived (20 years or more) growth SMEs. A comparison of the two groups of growth SMEs revealed strategic differences with important implications between young and long-lived SMEs. The results suggest that firm age does matter for SME growth strategies. The results increase our understanding of the factors affecting SME growth and performance in two different contexts. Keywords: growth; performance; strategies; small and medium enterprises INTRODUCTION Firm growth is a central focus area in strategy, organizational and entrepreneurship research. Much research effort has been targeted particularly at investigating the factors affecting firm growth, but to date there is no comprehensive theory to explain which firms will grow or how they grow (e.g. Garnsey, 1996). It seems that not even very strong explanatory factors have been identified, though various explanatory approaches have been presented. The research community largely shares the view that growth SMEs have a special importance in the economy (see e.g. Storey, 1994). During the last ten years, the research on firm growth has largely focused on high-growth SMEs. It is argued that a relatively small proportion of all small firms are responsible for the major part of the small firm contribution to net new jobs (Storey, 1994; Birch et al., 1993). These firms have been described as gazelles, fliers, growers and winners, and the targeting of effort towards them has been described as picking, stimulating, or backing winners (see e.g. Gibb, 1997; Freel, 1998; Beaver Jennings, 1995). More recently, the role of fast-growing small firms has been questioned, and the issue is known as the mice vs. gazelles (Birch et al., 1993) or flyers vs. trundlers (Storey, 1994) debate. In other words, the debate has focused on the question: which of these actually has the major impact on net employment (Davidsson Delmar, 1998)? On the other hand, it has been recognized that attending exclusively to firm-level growth and jobs may be too narrow an approach. Firms, even very small and non-growing ones, can have different strategic roles or positions in the local economic system (Laukkanen 1999). Some are critical facilitators of other firms growth or of their very emergence, and thus are important for job creation at the local level. In fact, previous research reveals that firm growth is a multidimensional phenomenon. There is substantial heterogeneity in a number of factors associated with firm growth and related research (Delmar et al., 2003). The most recent research on firm growth has increased our understanding of different growth patterns. As Delmar et al. (2003) have shown, firm growth patterns are related to the demographic characteristics of firms such as firm age. SME growth is often closely associated with firm overall success and survival (e.g. Johannisson, 1993; Phillips Kirchhoff, 1989). Growth has been used as a simple measure of success in business (e.g. Storey, 1994). Also, as Brush and Vanderwerf (1992) suggest, growth is the most appropriate indicator of the performance for surviving small firms. Moreover, growth is an important precondition for the achievement of other financial goals of business (de Geus, 1997: 53; Storey, 1994; Reynolds, 1993; Day, 1992: 128; Phillips Kirchhoff, 1989). From the point of view of an SME, growth is usually a critical precondition for its longevity (Storey, 1994: 158). Phillips and Kirchhoff (1989) found that young firms that grow have twice the probability of survival as young non-growing firms. It has been also found that strong growth may reduce the firms profitability temporarily, but increase it in the long run (McDougall et al., 1994; cf. MacMillan Day, 1987). However, there are several conceptual and empirical challenges in the study of firm growth (see e.g. Davidsson Wiklund, 2000; Delmar, 1997). Firm growth in general refers to increase in size. In research, firm growth has been operationalized in many ways and different measures have been used. This may be one reason for the contradictory results reported by previous studies (Weinzimmer et al., 1998: 235), though other explanations have also been presented (see Delmar et al., 2003; see also Davidsson Wiklund, 2000). The most frequently used measure for growth has been change in the firms turnover (e.g. Weinzimmer et al., 1998: 238; Hubbard Bromiley, 1995; Hoy et al., 1992; Venkatraman Ramanujam, 1986). Another typical measure for growth has been change in the number of employees. However, it has been found that these measures, which are frequently used in the SME context, are strongly intercorrelated (North Smallbone, 1993; Storey et al., 1987). Such an intercorrelation may not exist among capital-intensive large companies. Most studies of firm growth have focused on large companies or new venture, while the growth of established, long-lived SMEs seems to have attracted much less attention. In fact, many organizational life cycle models present growth as one stage of development in the organizational life cycle. On the other hand, it has been shown that most new jobs are created by existing, not new, SMEs (e.g. Davidsson et al., 1993; see also North et al., 1992). However, previous studies of SME performance have focused on the performance of new ventures rather than on existing SMEs and on the factors behind their longevity and growth (e.g. Tsai et al., 1991; Duchesneau Gartner, 1990; Keeley Roure, 1990). This study takes a holistic and extensive approach to factors affecting SME growth and performance. Firm growth and performance are much affected by strategy, which involves choices along a number of dimensions and can be represented by a firms overall collection of individual business-related decisions and actions (Mintzberg, 1978; Miles Snow, 1978). Though there is a variety of definitions of the term of strategy, it can accurately be conceptualized as a pattern of strategic variables, because the elements of strategy the individual business-related decisions and actions are interdependent and interactive (Galbraith Schendel, 1983). It is argued that the identification of strategy patterns permits a more complete and accurate depiction of overall strategic behavior (see e.g. Hambrick, 1983; Robinson Pearce, 1988). Previous research has suggested that the paths to growth can differ systematically by firm-level factors such as firm age (Fisher and Reuber, 2003; Delmar Davidsson, 1998). In fact, already in the late fifties Penrose (1959) presented the view that a firms growth pattern is dependent on its age, size, and industry affiliation (see Delmar et al., 2003; also Stinchcombe, 1965). As Delmar et al. (2003) suggest, it is probable that different growth patterns have different implications for management and possibly also for the long-term performance of the firm. In this light it seems useful to compare young growth SMEs and long-lived growth SMEs and determine whether they differ in characteristics and strategies. The central research question is, how do young and long-lived growth SMEs differ in their strategic attributes? In other words, the aim of this paper is to investigate whether firm age plays a role in firm characteristics and strategies. The findings will increase our understanding of the factors associated with firm growth and performance in these two different contexts. FACTORS AFFECTING SME GROWTH Although there has been much interest in understanding small firm growth during the last ten years (e.g. Davidsson Delmar, 1999; Delmar, 1997; Wiklund, 1998), there is still not much of a common body of well-founded knowledge about the causes, effects or processes of growth (Davidsson Wiklund, 2000). Moreover, although several determinants of firm growth have been suggested, researchers have been unable to achieve a consensus regarding the factors leading to firm growth (Weinzimmer, 2000). Most of the research work in this area fails to provide convincing evidence of the determinants of small firm growth as a basis for informing policy makers (Gibb Davies, 1990: 26). Attempts to build models for predicting the future growth of the firm, i.e. picking winners, have not been particularly successful. Moreover, as Spilling (2001) reminds us, the status of being a growth firm may be rather temporary. Early studies of growth focused on large companies and their diversification strategies. However, small firms are not small big firms. In large companies the role of diversification, for example, may be significantly bigger than in the case of SMEs. Indeed, growth through diversification may be necessary for the growth of a large company (Kay, 1997). The existing research on the growth and strategy of SMEs has focused mainly on new ventures (Olson Bokor, 1995). There are few studies of the growth of established SMEs: one instance is Davidsson (1989), who studied the subsequent growth of an SME from the psychological point of view. Maybe the most comprehensive compilation of results of previous studies focusing on small firm growth is that presented by Storey (1994). Several classifications of factors affecting firm growth have been presented. The general preconditions for growth have been suggested to be (1) entrepreneurs growth orientation; (2) adequate firm resources for growth; and (3) the existence of the market opportunity for growth (cf. Davidsson, 1991). Storey (1994: 158) claims that there are three key influences on the growth rate of a small independent firm: (1) the background and access to resources of the entrepreneur(s); (2) the firm itself; and (3) the strategic decisions taken by the firm once it is trading. The most important factors associated with an entrepreneur are motivation, education, the firm having more than a single owner, and the firm having middle-aged business owners. The growth of the smallest and youngest firms is the most rapid. The location and industry sector also affect the growth. The most important strategic factors are shared ownership, an ability to identify market niches and introduce new products, and an ability to build an efficient management team. Storey argues that these three components need to be combined appropriately for growth to be achieved. Gibb and Davies (1990: 16-17), on the other hand, have grouped the factors explaining growth into four types of approach (Gibb, 1997: 2-3; Pistrui et al., 1997; Poutziouris et al., 1999). These are: (1) personality-dominated approaches, which explore the impact of personality and capability on growth, including the entrepreneurs personal goals and strategic business aspirations (e.g. Chell Haworth, 1991; 1992); (2) firm development approaches, which seek to characterize the growth pattern of the firm across stages of development and the influence of factors affecting growth process (e.g. Scott Bruce, 1987); (3) business management approaches, which pay attention to the importance of business skills and the role of functional management, planning, control and formal strategic orientation in terms of shaping the growth and performance of the firm in the marketplace (e.g. Bamberger, 1989; 1983); and (4) sectoral and broader market-led approaches which focus largely on the identificati on of growth constraints and opportunities relating to small firm growth in the context of regional development or the development of specific industrial sectors such as high-technology small firms (e.g. Smallbone et al., 1993). The entrepreneur and growth intention The behavior of entrepreneurs is strongly affected by intentions (e.g. Krueger Carsrud, 1993: 315; Bird, 1988: 442). The firms strategic behavior and subsequent growth is understandable in the light of its growth intention. Therefore, firm growth is based not merely on chance, but on the managements conscious decision making and choice. Naturally, the firm can grow even though it is not the managements aim, but in such a case the growth is not planned and so may include more risks. Planning helps in managing growth. In general, goals and objectives can be divided into two categories. On the one hand, there are final goals which are valuable as such. On the other hand, there are goals which have instrumental value for achieving some other goals. Growth can be regarded as the second most important goal of a firm, the most important one being firm survival, i.e. the continuity of the business. Moreover, growth is an important precondition for a firms longevity. Negative growth of an SME is often a sign of problems, while stagnation, i.e. a situation where growth has stopped, is usually indicative of problems that a firm will face in the future. As a matter of fact, growth often has instrumental value. For new ventures, firm growth is needed to ensure an adequate production volume for profitable business. Growth can serve as an instrument for increasing profitability by enlargening the firms market-share. Other similar goals include securing the continuity of business in the conditions of growing demand or achieving economies of scale. Moreover, growth may bring the firm new business opportunities (cf. the corridor principle, Timmons 1999), and a larger size enhances its credibility in the market. Also, achieving a higher net value of the firm can be regarded as a motive for firm growth. In SMEs, growth objectives are often bound up with the owner-managers personal goals (e.g. Jennings Beaver, 1997), and so it is important that they support each other. Much has been written about the importance of the entrepreneurs growth motivation (e.g. Perren, 2000; Davidsson, 1991; Miner, 1990). The close connection between an owner-manager and the firm is the dominant characteristic of small firms (Vesalainen, 1995: 18). Instead of profit maximization or growth, a firms primary goal may be the entrepreneurs independence or self-realization (see e.g. Foley Green, 1989). Moreover, there may be no adequate resources for growth, or the expected increase in business risks may limit a firms growth willingness. However, aversion to growth has been said to be the principal reason why most SMEs stagnate and decline (Clark et al., 2001). In several typologies, entrepreneurs and firms are categorized by their business goals, so growth has been a widely used dimension in many typologies. There are two broad approaches in the studies of small firm success: (1) the business professionals model, and (2) the small business proprietors model (Bridge et al., 1998: 140-142). These two approaches can be identified in several typologies of entrepreneurs (e.g. Smith, 1967; Stanworth Curran, 1976). According to the business professionals model, a successful firm is one that achieves its highest potential in terms of growth, market share, productivity, profitability, return on capital invested or other measures of the performance of the firm itself. In the small business proprietors model, the owner-managers main concern is whether the firm is providing them with the benefits they want from it. These benefits are often associated with a lifestyle and an income level to maintain it. In the latter model, firm success therefore mean s being able to reach a level of comfort rather than achieving the businesss maximum potential. Firm development In firm development approaches, firms are seen as temporal phenomena which are born, grow, mature, decline and die. Firm growth is the basic dimension of the models of organizational life cycles (e.g. Greiner, 1972; 1998; Mintzberg, 1979; Churchill Lewis, 1983; 1991; Miller Friesen, 1983b; Scott Bruce, 1987). Numerous models of organizational life cycles have been presented, e.g. a three stage model (Smith et al., 1985), four stage models (Quinn Cameron, 1983; Kazanjian, 1988), five stage models (Greiner, 1972; Galbraith, 1982; Churchill Lewis, 1983; Scott Bruce, 1987), and a seven stage model (Flamholtz, 1986). These multistage models use a diverse array of characteristics to explain organizational growth and development. Organizational life cycle models is one application of the configurational approach in describing the stages of life cycles and the transformation from one stage to another (Mintzberg et al., 1998). Common to these growth pattern models is the claim that changes in an organization follow a pattern characterized by discrete stages of development (Dodge et al., 1994). Typical of these patterns are the sequence of events that show how things change over time, a hierarchical progression that is not easily reversed, and a composite of a broad range of organizational activities and structures. Organizational life cycle models are important in understanding the differences in success factors of the firm between the stages of the life cycle. However, organizational life cycle models have been criticized because of their extreme simplification of reality: in some cases not all stages of development are found, some stages of development may occur several times, the stages of development may occur in an irregular order, and there is a lack of empirical evidence to support the theories (e.g. Gibb Davies, 1990; Bridge et al., 1998: 105; Eggers et al., 1994; Birley Westhead, 1990; Miller Friesen, 1983a; Vinnell Hamilton, 1999; cf. Dodge et al., 1994). In addition, on the basis of the results of their study of high-growth firms, Willard et al. (1992) concluded that the applicability of conventional wisdom regarding the leadership crisis in rapid growth entrepreneurial firms may no longer be valid, if, in fact, it ever was. Despite the critiques of organizational life cycle models, strategic management and entrepreneurship research has demonstrated life cycle theory to be one of the most powerful tools for understanding and predicting venture performance. According to Greiner (1972; 1998), for example, a firms failure to adapt to a series of crises caused by growth is one of the principal causes of firm failure. Growth strategies Several growth strategies related to business management approaches have been presented in the literature. Managing growth is a major strategic issue for a growing firm (see e.g. Arbaugh Camp, 2000). Strategy is the most important determinant of firm growth (Weinzimmer, 2000). Among high-growth firms, Dsouza (1990) identified three primary strategic clusters: (1) build strategy, i.e. emphasis on vertical integration; (2) expand strategy, i.e. emphasis on resource allocation and product differentiation; and (3) maintain strategy, i.e. emphasis on market dominance and/or efficiency. Thompson (2001: 563-565) presents four growth strategies: (1) organic growth; (2) acquisition; (3) strategic alliance; and (4) joint venture. On the other hand, when looking at the product/market strategy, four options can be seen: (1) market penetration; (2) new product development; (3) new market development; and (4) moving into new markets with new products (Burns, 1989: 47). However, there is a lack of agreement in empirical findings concerning product- and market-based strategies. While Sandberg and Hofer (1987) argue that product-based strategies work better than focused strategies, Cooper (1993) claim that focused strategies outperform differentiated product strategies (Pistrui et al., 1997). Perry (1986/87) investigated growth strategies for an established small firm, and concluded that the most appropriate growth strategies are niche strategies, i.e. market development and product development strategies, in that order. However, it seems that most empirical studies focus on new venture strategies. Studies of competitive strategies related to firm growth have been carried out in the new venture context by McDougall and Robinson (1990), McDougall et al. (1992), Carter et al. (1994), and Ostgaard and Birley (1995), among others. As opposed to the organic growth strategy, acquisitions are regarded rather as a large company growth strategy which can be either synergistic or nonsynergistic (Anslinger Copeland, 1996). Forward or backward vertical integration means that the acquired firm is located at a different level of the value-addition chain, i.e. the acquired firm is a customer or supplier of the firm. In contrast, horizontal integration refers to a firm which is at the same level of value-addition, i.e. it is a competitor. Lateral integrations refer to unrelated businesses which represent a diversification strategy. In addition to becoming bigger and thus acquiring greater market power, there might be several other reasons for acquisitions, e.g. acquiring synergies, industry restructuring, reduction of business risk, acquiring new knowledge and other necessary resources, overcoming barriers to entry, and entering new markets quickly (see Vermeulen Barkema, 2001; Empson, 2000; Birkinshaw, 1999; Tetenbaum, 1999; Chatterjee, 1992). Despite the fact that growth through acquisitions is more typical of larger firms than smaller ones (see e.g. Davidsson Delmar, 1998), it is one option for the growth of an SME. However, it seems that few studies focus on acquisitions made by small firms. Also, one often neglected way of growing is by setting up new firms. Studies using a firm as the unit of analysis have not been able to identify growth through a portfolio of firms as one way of growing (see Scott Rosa, 1996). However, it has been found that portfolio entrepreneurship appears to be more common than suspected, and that it is characteristic of entrepreneurs who own and manage growth firms (Pasanen, 2003b). Wiklund (1998: 239) concluded that growth through portfolios of firms does not seem to be an alternative to growing a single firm, but entrepreneurs leading rapidly growing firms tend more often to start subsidiaries and independent new firms and to grow these firms. Small business growth through geographic expansion is a challenging growth strategy, as during the course of opening a new geographical site an entrepreneur will be confronted with the task of managing an existing business and a start-up at the same time (Barringer Greening, 1998). Penrose (1959) proposed already in the late fifties that firm growth is constrained by the availability and quality of managerial resources. Many studies draw attention to the important role of an entrepreneurial team for firm growth (see Birley Stockley, 2000). Also, in their study of technology-based ventures, Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven (1990) found an association between a strong management team and firm growth (see also Weinzimmer, 1997). In addition to the importance of favourable firm-internal conditions, the strategies should be in harmony with the environmental conditions. Different growth environments may require different business strategies for SMEs. For instance, Chaganti (1987) found that for small manufacturing firms, different growth environments required distinctly different strategies. Interestingly, this was contrary to the findings concerning large companies. It was concluded that strategic flexibility is a critical requirement for small firms (Chaganti, 1987). Growth barriers Sectoral and broader market-led approaches focus largely on the identification of growth constraints and opportunities. It has been found, for instance, that economic fluctuations strongly affect the growth probability of small firms (Kangasharju, 2000). Also, for firm growth, it seems that aiming at growing market niches is more important than taking market shares from competitors (Wiklund, 1998). However, growth can happen only if there are no growth barriers. Such barriers can be related to firm-internal and firm-external factors (see e.g. Barber et al., 1989; Smallbone North, 1993a; Vaessen Keeble, 1995; Jones-Evans, 1996; Vesper, 1990: 174-175; Hay Kamshad, 1994). The growth barriers characteristic of small firms in peripheral locations have been presented by Birley and Westhead (1990: 538). In the study carried out by the Cambridge Small Business Research Centre (1992), the most common growth barriers were related to factors on the macro level. The most important growth barriers were related to difficulties in obtaining finance and the price of money, the level of and decrease in demand (also Perren, 2000), and tightening competition (also Hay Kamshad, 1994). Other growth barriers were caused by restrictions determined by authorities, problems in obtaining a skilled workforce, and the small number or lack of potential cooperation partners in the area. The firm-internal factors affecting unwillingness to grow include the entrepreneurs fear of losing her or his autonomy, difficulties in fitting together personal and the firms goals, and weak managerial or marketing skills (see also MacNabb, 1995; Perren, 2000). These issues are particularly ty pical when an entrepreneur transfers from the role of entrepreneur to that of manager, or when the firm hires a new manager. DATA AND METHODS This paper is based on data from a larger exploratory study of the factors affecting SME performance (Pasanen, 2003a). Empirical data were collected from 111 growing SMEs in Eastern Finland. The sample was split into quartiles, based on firm age. Lower and upper quartiles of firms were chosen for the final samples, in order to compare the firms in these quartiles with each other. The lower quartile consisted of 32 SMEs aged eight years or less (young firms), whereas the upper quartile consisted of 33 SMEs aged twenty years or more (long-lived firms). A growth firm was defined as a firm with actual growth in turnover during the past five years. Growth was measured as a change in turnover between two time points ignoring the regularity or irregularity of growth over time (see Delmar et al., 2003; Weinzimmer et al., 1998; Delmar, 1997). A mail questionnaire was directed to the CEOs of SMEs operating in the sectors of manufacturing, business services, and tourism. The response rate was 5 3.7 %. Firms in the samples shared the following features: (1) size: SMEs, i.e. they employed fewer than 250 persons; (2) performance: growth firms, i.e. they had grown in terms of turnover during past years; (3) location: peripheral, i.e. outside major cities and not in core areas; (4) ownership: independent firms, not subsidiaries of other companies; and (5) industry sector: operated in the sectors of manufacturing, business services, and tourism. The age of young firms ranged from 2 to 8 years, the average being 5.5 years with standard deviation of 1.7 years. The age of long-lived firms ranged from 20 to 120 years, the average being 40.4 years with standard deviation of 24.9 years. Half of the long-lived firms were less than 35 years old. A comparison of the two groups of SMEs was based on data referring to the characteristics of entrepreneurs and enterprises, their life cycles, the strategic choices made, the success factors of SMEs, and the nature of their environment (see Pasanen, 2003a). Several factors in these areas are associated with firm performance. The characteristics of entrepreneurs consist of variables relating to entrepreneurs education, experience and other demographic factors. Variables related to the characteristics of SMEs and their life cycles include the firms demographic characteristics and growth behavior indicators. For the strategic choices made by the firm, the focus was on innovativeness, internationalization, specialization and networking. These strategic choices include three important elements affecting SME performance: markets, products, and the way of doing business (Normann, 1976). Innovativeness refers to the products of the firm, internationalization to its markets, and specializatio n and networking to the way of doing business. The environment was approached by studying the characteristics of the customer, industry and location. The success factors of SMEs were presented as statements describing their importance in the firms competitive advantage. In identifying the differences between young and long-lived SMEs, approximately 150 variables were tested using appropriate statistical tests, depending on the variable: the t test, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, or chi-square test. These tests were conducted to test the differences between the two groups for each of the individual variables. In some analyses, the U test was used instead of the t test due to the skewness of the data. RESULTS A number of differences in characteristics of the owner-managers and firms and their success factors were found between young and long-lived growth SMEs. Three variables related to the characteristics of the owner-managers showed statistically significant differences between the two groups of SMEs (Table 1). Almost all young firms were led by the founder(s) of the firm, whereas this was the case for only half of the long-lived SMEs. Among young SMEs, owner-managers had less experience and were younger than their counterparts in long-lived SMEs. TABLE 1 Differences in characteristics of owner-managers between young and long-lived SMEs (p Variables Test p value Founder  Ã‚ £2 = 6.705 (df = 1) p = .010 Total length of experience as owner-manager U test (z = -2.546) p = .011 Age U test (z = -2.459) p = .014 Fourteen variables characterizing the SMEs showed statistically significant differences between young and long-lived SMEs (Table 2). Young firms had had more founders (means 3.3 vs. 2.1) and had more founders still involved in the firm at the time of the survey than long-lived SMEs had (means 2.9 vs. 1.1). Almost all young firms were founded by a team of owners, whereas half of the long-lived SMEs were founded by a single owner. Being a family firm was more typical of long-lived SMEs (58%) than of young firms (19%). Long-lived SMEs were bigger in size than their younger counterparts: the average full-time personnel was 84 employees in long-lived SMEs and 21 in young firms. Moreover, the number of establishments was bigger in long-lived SMEs than in young firms, averaging 3.5 and 1.7, respectively. Acquisitions or mergers were more typical of long-lived SMEs (39%) than of young SMEs (13%). Owner-managers in long-lived SMEs were more satisfied with their firms success than those in young firms. On a scale of 1 (fully satisfied) to 4 (not at all satisfied), owner-managers in the long-lived SMEs had an average satisfaction of 1.7, whereas among young firms the average was 2.1. During their life cycle, more than half of the long-lived SMEs (55%) had at least once faced a situation where the firms existence, i.e. survival, had been threatened, while only one fifth of the young SMEs (22%) reported that their existence had been threatened. Managerial know-how was considered to be higher in long-lived SMEs than in young firms. In long-lived SMEs, principles and practices of management had changed more than in young firms. Among young SMEs, almost all firms (91%) had stayed close to their original business, whereas among long-lived SMEs seven out of ten firms (70%) had stayed close to their original business. There were also differences in products and customer structures between young and long-lived SMEs. The proportion of products with declining volume was higher in long-lived SMEs (6% of their products), whereas such products accounted for 2% of the young firms products. Among young firms, the cumulative proportion of turnover due to the five biggest customers was 59% of the firms total turnover, whereas in long-lived SMEs it was clearly lower, 41%. TABLE 2 Differences in characteristics of firms between young

Self-Concept and Education :: Education Learning Educational Essays

Self-Concept and Education An attractive dark-skinned black child with a tall and slender body, Jewel inhabits her third-grade universe with the energetic self-assuredness of someone who is eager for the next lesson, the next week, the next grade, her future. She's eight years old-going on nine, not nineteen, and you wouldn't guess that her mother died of a drug overdose a couple of years ago. You don't have to guess because her teacher will freely share the information with you a stranger--accompanied by an expression filed with smugness about self-fulfilling prophecies--if you comment even casually about Jewel's good attendance and punctuality record, praise her consistently neat home and class work admire her excellent handwriting, one of the best cursives in the class. In a classroom of thirty third-graders, Jewel is one of two black children. The other child is racially mixed with some African-American parentage but her physical features and color blend in seamlessly and nearly anonymously with all of th e other tan, tawny, golden Latino, Filipino, white, and Asian children in the class. This is a restless bunch of third- graders, except for those half-dozen who are usually too sleepy or enervated by 9:00 or 10:00 a.rn. to do any more than put their heads down on the desk when they can. Five or six students are always extremely quiet in the class, but the behaviors of the majority range from the docile but talkative to the intensely and continually disruptive and unmanageable. Jewel is talkative but is also wary and sensitive; she watches the others, watches the teacher, and desists when necessary. She has reasonable self-control, does not appear to be incorrigible, is cooperative and tractable most of thc time, is appropriately silent and focused for stretches of time, and is considered a good student by the usual everyday measurements. On this day, Jewel is talking and laughing, almost dancing--so absorbed and delighted with her classmates' topic or the moment--with the enviable childhood balloon of rising silliness and laughter that no brow-wrinkling, long division problem can easily burst--Jewel gets louder and forgets to be watchful, but it is too late. The teacher looks toward Jewel from the other side of the room, and I can tell from teacher's expression--her mean-curved lips, the narrowing of her wide blue eyes, her reddening cheeks--that Jewel is toast. From across the room teacher yells, "Jewel, sit down and be quiet--you're acting like an animal!"

History of the Berlin Wall :: Germany War Wall History Essays

The Berlin Wall separated the people of East Berlin from the people in West Berlin. It separated families, kept people from their jobs, and caused people to die. It was erected in an effort to save East Berlin’s economy, but in the end it did so much more. The fleeing of residents of East Berlin to West Berlin affected the Soviet Union and East Berlin in two ways. The first of which was economic. By 1958, 15% of the population of East Berlin had fled to West Berlin. East Berlin’s economy provided much for the Soviets and among these 15% were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and other essential figures for the East Berlin economy. The birth rate in East Berlin was higher than the death rate, but still 250,000 people were leaving every year. In 1961 alone, 5,000 doctors, 20,000 engineers and technicians, and 17,000 teachers left East Berlin. All together in the years from 1954 through 1960, 4,600 doctors, 15,885 teachers, 738 university teachers, 15,536 engineers and technicians moved from East Berlin to West Berlin. Besides these professionals, 11,705 students with initial intentions of working in East Berlin left to work in West Berlin after getting their free education from East Berlin. This hit East Berlin very hard, for it needed these potential workers to rebuild the country after the destruction caused by World War II.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walter Ulbricht, the leader of the East German communist party and president of the Privy Council, was greatly distressed by the fleeing of East Berlin’s citizens, for it hurt his 7 year plan to bring East Berlins economy to the same level as West Berlin’s. Walter Ulbricht ordered regular police spot checks of anyone carrying a suitcase, but this barely had any impact on the number of East Berlin citizens fleeing. Citizens making many trips with very little baggage at once easily avoided them. Ulbricht tried very hard to convince Soviet Union to take over West Berlin, but the Soviet Union wanted to keep peace with westerners. Finally, the Soviet leader, Stalin, backed Ulbricht and declared that West Berlin must be turned into a â€Å"free city† in six months. The Western powers did not comply with these demands and Stalin, after six months, did nothing in retaliation for being ignored.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the six months that Stalin spoke of, the citizens of East Berlin feared their time was running short to flee to West Berlin, so in those six months, more people fled than had previously been fleeing.

Expository texts Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cook :: essays research papers

Features and rhetorical devices of non fiction text encourage responses from the reader, how do they do this ? We are often bullied into doing things against our will, this could also be said of expository texts which aim to inform, instruct and explain but importantly to persuade. They use shock value to force us to look at our values, attitudes and ideologies. When devices such as statistics, personal touch, persona, language and case studies are used the responses from the reader will have been deliberated by the author, Who uses these features to illicit the desired response. Looking at articles such as Real Gorgeous, The other country crisis and Columbine it is obvious to see the many features and devices that have been carefully positioned to encourage responses in the reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Almost all statistics do not consider the varying factors contributing to the study. When reading a text containing statistics the reader feels they are attaining the hard facts, this however could not be further from the truth as Rod Quin points out with the example of the text Manhood written by Steve Biddulph. Biddulp states â€Å"One in seven boys will experience sexual assault by an adult or older child before the age of eighteen.† Reading this the audience will feel outraged or sympathetic towards men, Quin however asks us to consider the â€Å"rest of the â€Å"facts† that â€Å"one in a hundred girls will experience sexual assault by an adult or older child before they reach eighteen† that’s five times the rate of men. While the statistics are convincing it is also the source they come from that can encourage a response from reader. They will feel the â€Å"fact† is more credible if it comes from a well known source. The Other Country Crisi s by Stephen Scourfeild states that â€Å"According to the Bureau of statistics, Australia has once of the highest rates of youth suicide† Once again the reader is not seeing all of the facts, yet the source from which the statistic come from is credible and well known. With this in mind the readers response will still be swayed because we are taught to trust authority. The author has triumphed in encouraging the desired response. It is always more pleasant and enjoyable to read something that appears to be personal or sympathetic. Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cooke is a perfect example of manipulative language. The text encourages the reader to feel comfortable with themselves that they are fine â€Å"the way they are† .

“Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.” Case Study Essay

The case study, â€Å"Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.† in the Custom Book, (2011), examines the project management structure of the Beijing EAPS Consulting (BEC) company. This case study also addressesabout project plan itself and how the co-workers are struggling with this communication between bothmangers. This project plan has demonstrated many strengths and weakness. The one thing that theproject plan needs put into action is safeguards to insure that the project is completed on time.BEC has taken on the matrix organizational structure. This type of structure combines functional anddivisional organization structure styles. There are advantages and disadvantages in utilizing this type of organizational structure. Advantages include resource utilization, specialization, cross functional areas,communication and flexibility. Resource utilization allows for the project departmental managers tofocus on their strengths. Also, it allows for the managers to all the workers to specialize in an area of important for that project. In turn, it uses people across the company who specialize in a field thatrelates to the project at hand. This matrix structure permits cross departmental communication andflexibility to work on different projects across the company structure.( Guzman, 2012)However, with advantages come disadvantage with this type of matrix organizational structure. Thisstructure increases complexity within the organization by leading to confusion among both workers andmanagers. The managers may not know what a certain employee has on their plate. In reverse, theemployee will obtain an overload of work because they are receiving work from two different types of managers. Another disadvantage is an increase in overhead cost for the company due to the need fordouble management. This double management can lead to confusion between managers as to who hasthe higher priority of work creating a power struggle. (Johnson, 2012) The case study, â€Å"Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.† in the Custom Book, (2011), reveals many advantages anddisadvantages to this matrix organizational structure. For instance, the project manager, Ms. Song, andthe departmental manager, Mr. Yang, are having a problem deciding who makes the final decisions onwork to be completed because they are the same level in the management structure. Ms. Song feels like she does not have the authority to give direction to Mr. Yang’s employees. She is also wary about asking Mr. Yang to give his employees work from her because of his temperament. The loud and  abrasiveattitude of Mr. Yang represents the rational personality type. A rational trait is more forceful and can getangry quickly. (Lewis, 2003) Mr. Yang knows he has this type of personality; however, he does not doanything to curve this problem when he notices that Ms. Song is not communicating with him. Also, theemployees do not know which manager to listen to or how to prioritize their work at hand. This causesmore conflict between the employees, the project manager and departmental managers. In addition,these employees are not sure if the project manager or the department manager is their directsupervisor. This in turn causes conflict between both managers.There are some strengths and weaknesses that have been made clear about the project plan in the case study, â€Å"Beijing EAPS Consulting, Inc.† in the Custom Book, (2011). These weaknesses include an overload of individual and team projects. The employees need to work extra hours to keep up with tightdeadlines. They are also working across department lines meaning they have to meet the demands of more than one manager at a time. When urgent matters arise they a re required to add the new work tomeet a new deadline on top of the current work load which now causes more stress on the employees.

Beginner English Lesson Plan: First Day of Class

Beginner English Lesson Plan: First Day of Class Note to teachers: With beginners, mime and movement are essential. Don’t worry if students cannot understand everything you say, speak slowly and use lots of body language to convey instructions. For beginners, understanding and conveying basic meaning is much more important than using perfect grammar. Encourage students to use any English they have available to get their point across. Remember, learning a language is not a linear process. Level: Beginner with some prior English Time: 1. 5 hours Materials: Bring some everyday objects to class (preferably one for each student) choose a few things from different categories, like clothing, food, and household items. Also bring paper and pens and pictures from home (if available). Objective: Review basic vocabulary and sentence structures, assess students’ skill levels and prior knowledge, and get to know your students on the first day. Activity 1: Introductions (5 minutes). As students enter the classroom walk around and say â€Å"hello. † Introduce yourself using the phrase â€Å"hi, my name is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and ask â€Å"what is your name? Try to elicit responses and make students feel at ease. Activity 2: Warm up circle toss (5 minutes). Form a standing circle and practice as a group, the phrases â€Å"hi my name is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"what’s your name? † If you have writing materials available, write the phrase and question in a place that all students can see it and use it as a reference. Then choose one of the objects that can be easily tossed around. Start the circle toss by saying the phrase, â€Å"hi, my name is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  then toss the object and ask â€Å"what is your name? Students must then mimic your example until everyone has had at least one turn. Activity 3: Vocabulary (10 minutes). Have students sit, but stay in a circle. Gather the objects that you have brought and show them to the students. Start by asking â€Å"what is this? † and see if anyone knows the answer. Hold one object up and repeat the name of the object slowly, using the phrase â€Å"this is a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Pass the object to your left and ask â€Å"what is this? † The student to the left should respond with â€Å"this is a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and then ask â€Å"what is this? † and pass it to the left.Continue this activity until all items have been passed around the circle. This may seem repetitive, but it is important that students are comfortable with the activities and feel successful, especially on the first day. If it seems too easy for the students you can make the game more challenging by having several items circulating at once or by asking students to close their eyes and see if they can recognize items by touch. Activity 4: Categories (15-20 minutes). Give each student one of the objects and have them find other students with objects of the same category.You can demonstrate this by showin g two like items and nodding your head then show two unlike items and shaking your head. Once students are organized into groups, try to elicit the name of their category such as â€Å"food†. Each group is then responsible for coming up with 5 other items that belong in their category and presenting those words to the other groups. Have students draw pictures or mime other items for their category, if they don’t know the English word encourage them to ask you â€Å"what is this in English? † and then give them the word, making sure that it is repeated by every member of the group.Once the groups are confident with the new words, have different students from each group teach their new words to the rest of the class. Ask one student to hold up a picture and ask â€Å"what is this? † If no one knows the answer then the student with the picture can drill the class, saying the word and having the other students repeat it back. Do this with each group until all the new words have been practiced. Note: If students seem very comfortable with the vocabulary, introduce new categories for each group before starting the activity and have students think of as many words as they can.Some suggestions are: Animals, Professions, Family Members, or Things You Like to Do. Activity 5: Get to know your neighbor (20 minutes). This activity is meant for you to better assess the skill levels in the class. For this activity you are the observer, only prompt students if they seem stuck. Take mental notes of the grammar structures and the vocabulary that they use. If some students are much stronger than others remember them, you can use them for demonstrations and have them help others. For this activity put students in pairs.Have them ask and answer simple questions about themselves and their partners, let them ask any questions they can. Students are to get to know something about their partner. Next, have them find new partners. Student A will tell the new partner something about student B and visa versa; then everyone swaps partners and repeats the activity. Choose one of the more confident students to demonstrate a dialogue. Any photos or props you have available would be useful for this exercise. Introduce yourself and ask the student to do the same.Ask a simple question that the student will probably know or that you can mime for meaning. For example â€Å"Do you like †¦? † and hold up one of the food items. You can mime â€Å"I like† and â€Å"I don’t like† if the student doesn’t understand. Then grab another student and say â€Å"This is Nola, she likes †¦ † Follow with â€Å"Do you like†¦? † Put Nola with the other student and have Nola ask the second student another question. For example â€Å"How old are you? † Demonstrate this a few times by guiding students to ask and answer question then switching them with other students.Emphasize that they can ask an y question. Once they get the idea. Give them 15 minutes to talk to as many students as they can. Walk around and listen to what students come up with, but don’t correct them. If a pair is totally lost then give them some questions and practice them with them, otherwise just observe. Activity 6: Wrap up (10 minutes). Have students stay in the pairs that they are in. Tell them to tell you something about their partner. Be encouraging and don’t insist on correct grammar as long as the basic structure is there, for example Nola might say â€Å"This is Sam, he like swimming. Instead of correcting the student, just repeat the phrase back using the correct grammar by saying something like, â€Å"oh, Sam likes swimming. I like swimming too. † If there are common mistakes among students you can use that as a focus for your next lesson. Ending the class: End the class by saying goodbye repeating the names of students and shaking their hands. Try to remember their names and something unique about them. For example, â€Å"it was nice to meet you Sam, have fun swimming. †

Disregard of Moral Values Lead to Unethical Deeds Essay

This greed for money has crossed the limits of all ethical standards, regard and consideration for fellow men, or sympathy and compassion. All these things seem to have gone with the wind and are among the major casualties of the post-independence period. This development can be considered quite a new one, probably an accompaniment of the modern technological development which is . taking place rapidly in this country, as the malaise has especially afflicted the young and the middle aged people. The increasing attraction towards the modern glamorous lifestyles, big cars and bungalows, gorgeous dresses and jewellery has such effect on people that they would not hesitate to resort tovalues all means, unfair to acquire wealth and all luxuries of life. This mad obsession for reaching the top is the dream of everybody, and as such the moral and ethical values do not seem to have any place. Morality is often defined as the doctrine of actions right or wrong it is synonymous with ethics. Moralists are selfless and preach justice in every sphere of life. If people tend to observe morals, they will constitute a healthy and sound society. Morality knows nothing of the geographical boundaries or distinctions of race or color in modern age, the traditional values which are in themselves moral and symbols of rectitude, have been radically transformed. Most of the principles are in a flux and human convictions based a rich human experience are in the melting pot. Obsessions with circumstances and the peculiar conditions prevailing in a region have proved so overpowering that everything else is thrown overboard. Excessive wealth does not necessarily promote culture and intelligence. In fact, the ostentatious and luxurious living that wealth promotes, causes a notable deterioration in character and conception of values. Rarely do highly intelligent people, famous writers or artiest belong to rich families. Since wealth itself has the habit of diminishing fast, most of those who possess it go to any extent, even to the adoption of unethical practices and dishonesty to acquire more wealth. This leads to further decay and deterioration of character. India’s Poet Laureate, Rabindra Nath Tagore warned. â€Å"Greed of wealth and power can never have a limit; a compromise on self-control can never attain the final spirit of reconciliation.

10 Reasons to Get a College Degree Essay

In the article â€Å"10 Reasons to Get a College Degree† by Kelci Lynn, she discusses tangible and intangible reasons on why getting a college degree is important. One tangible reason is that a person with a college degree will be able to make more money than a person without a college degree, and able to get a better job than a person without a college degree. Leaving the person with the college degree with a larger range of income. A second tangible reason is better job opportunities. It is easier to get a good job with a college degree compared to a person without a college degree. With a college degree in hand, it opens up more and/or better job opportunities. A third tangible reason to have a college degree is that is prepares you for situations in life that have yet to occur. A degree better prepares someone for changes that can occur in the world around them when thrown their way. They will know how to handle and overcome them once they happen. One intangible reason on why to get a college degree is that it makes someone feel better about them self knowing that they accomplished something. See more: Experiment on polytropic process Essay A second intangible reason is a college degree can help someone realize that they can do and accomplish bigger and better goals and/or dreams. The third Intangible reason is that while getting a college degree is gives a person an opportunity to meet and become friends with a lot of people that could become helpful to them in the future if needed. For example: A doctor, lawyer, or even a teacher. I am attending college to get a degree for a few reasons. One reason is because I want to set a good example for my younger siblings so they will go farther with their life and want to go to college when they get older. I want them to be able to look at me and think to themselves that they can also accomplish something with their life, and be able to have better opportunities instead of just settling with a GED. A second reason is because I want to become successful as a person and actually do something with my life by having a career instead of just a job. With a college degree I will be able to go farther in life than I would without a college degree. A Third reason why I am going to college is I want to have the chance to be able to have a better income, rather than making minimum wage for the rest of my life. With the job I have now I hardly have enough money to put gas in my car, but by getting a college degree I can have a career instead of just a job and have a better chance of making a higher income. One of the last reasons why am attending college to get a degree is because I want to open more doors in my life. I would like to have more opportunities with the choices I am going to have to make in the future, so I can have a greater chance of becoming successful at what I want to do.

Impact of In Home Counseling on at Risk Youth Essay

Impact of In Home Counseling on at Risk Youth - Essay Example By this occurring, children become very withdrawn in the classroom even though they do attempt express their emotional pain to their teacher. From there, it has been concluded from research in home counseling for at risk youths help them not to have more emotional and social issues than those who come from a two-parent home. When children do not have the attention that they need at home, they show aggression in the classroom, which indicates in home counseling works. Human subjects will be utilized for data collection. Data will be collected by observing two controlled groups, one group will be of at risk youth that are receiving in home counseling and the other group has not received home counseling. Both groups attend the same school and classes. Their reaction to the counseling will be measured by questionnaires regarding perception of school and life while attending counseling. At the end of the period, they will fill out another questionnaire to measure any improvements or declines in their behavior and perception. The sample size for the current study will be 100 students; procedures will include but are not limited to distribution of fliers to obtain participants. The population has been selected due to the varying races and the percentage of males and females that are at risk. The questionnaire will include gender, race and questions that determine the perception of life, school and academic achievement by those individuals. Furthermore, the counseling session will obtain details of both groups that the questionnaire missed about their in-depth perception on life and academics. Review of the Findings In these findings, despite more home are not familiar with in home counseling, over ninety percent would want to use it to help better their children. If children have socially supportive arrangements as the attributes of socially legitimate roles which provide for the meeting dependency needs without loss of esteem, they are less likely to show aggression while suppressing destructive behavior. From there, socially supportive environments were presented as pattern interpersonal relationships mediated through shared values and sentiments as well as facilitate the performance of social roles through which needs are met. In summation, social support has been defined as an intervening factor tied directly to the coping process (Pearson, 1986). Social support can also serve as a salve to pains encountered along the way. It gives people the confidence to making a positive change and testing their limits when they know they have a community of support they can call upon. Social support refers to social interactions that are perceived by the recipient to facilitate coping and assist in responding to stress. Social support is thought to reduce the total amount of stress a person experience as well as to help one cope better when stressed (House, & Landis, 2003). It is apparent that for children, the lack of positive adult support and communication from parents, teachers, pastors, or coaches leads to increased behavior issues in the classroom, which can consist of them being destructive. Additionally, if the outlook of adults were more positive, adolescents will be more comfortable seeking support without fear of ridicule or rejection. Furthermore, the result of more positive adult su

The Basis Of The Contract Between The Company And Its Members Case Study - 2

The Basis Of The Contract Between The Company And Its Members - Case Study Example Enforcement of contract arises when one of the parties commits a breach of terms and conditions of the contract. Section 14 of the Company Act 2006 (CA) makes the articles of association, on registration of the company, to become a contract between the company and members and it has been observed by Stein LJ in Bratton Seymour service Co Ltd v Oxborough1that â€Å"it is a statutory contract of special nature with distinctive features†2 Within the perspective of company law, it is of special nature because the terms of contract can be varied by special resolution and its enforcement by the members is limited to a certain extent and no outsider has any rights. And section 33(1) of the CA provides for a number of ways to be different from a normal contract. The provisions of the constitution of a company bind the company and its members in a manner as if there are covenants on the part of the company and on the part of each of its members to comply with those provisions. This position emerges once the company is registered as set in section 33 (1) of the CA. It, therefore, follows that prov isions in the articles are enforceable by the company against its members, by a member against another member, and by a members against the company limited to their membership rights of attending meetings, voting, eligibility for dividend and to assert the rights to ensure that the company is managed as per the constitution. Usually, there will be a condition in the articles to provide for referring by the company to arbitration disputes between the company and members. A company can enforce compliance of this obligation. This is supported by the decision in Hickman v Kent or Romney Marsh Sheep-Breeders’ Association where the court upheld the relevant clause in the articles for arbitration.

Contingency Perspective Of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contingency Perspective Of Leadership - Essay Example Leadership is considered as a controlling power that is bestowed on a person to achieve certain aims. The leader, having specific aims, is now responsible to achieve those aims. There are a number of leadership perspectives available to individuals. A true and successful leader, however, is the one who realizes the suitability and effectiveness of certain leadership style on the team and environment he is working with. Contingency perspective of leadership provides such a mechanism where leaders have to be flexible in their attitudes, working and demands. This perspective involves the analysis of situation on which the leader has to decide on things. The contingency approach of leadership is associated with the path-goal theory more closely than others (Dubrin, 2001 pp. 32-34). The path-goal theory follows the same idea as defined in the expectancy theory of motivation. The main idea is the relationship or connection between the leaders behaviours on employee participation and perfor mance in achieving the tasks assigned to them. The path-goal theory is more inclined towards the rewards in order to attain higher motivation of employees and higher performance efficiency. Path-goal theory emphasizes on servant leaders, who are less dominating and more helpful. The leaders working under the contingency perspective of leadership are more like coaches, facilitators and guides to the employee team. Directive leadership which points towards the task-oriented leadership. The leader explains the task clearly, provides a framework to follow and describes the standards against which the performance would be measured. This style of leadership use rewards and payments as a tool of motivation. Supportive Leadership may also be termed as people-oriented leadership. The leader following this style is supportive in actions, words and behaviours. A supportive leader is respectful, honest and pleasant with the employees. Having a friendly attitude,

Retrospective Analysis of a Change in the Psychiatric ICU Essay

Retrospective Analysis of a Change in the Psychiatric ICU - Essay Example There are several change management theories that have been proposed and almost all theories concur, that the success and failure of any change is related to the people factor. It is largely the emotional reactions of people involved in the change process that needs to be managed. Partnership, participation and commitment of staff responsible to implement new processes becomes critical, else any plan is likely to fail. Change management also emphasizes that people's fears need to be managed and trust needs to be built hence communication becomes critical. Researchers have highlighted that involving staff in the planning of change, facilitating communication between departments and backing of senior management can go a long way in ensuring desired outcomes. Any new idea or change in existing practice, is often met with resistance by people who are involved in such transformations. Disruption in expectation is considered as loss of control (cited by, Brck, 2002). Resistance could be higher if people are not given clarity on the goals of new processes and the benefits that one hopes to achieve by implementing the change (Doppler and Lauterburg, 2000). The reaction is triggered by the psychological need for security and predictability. Fear of the unknown holds people back from embracing any change in process or structure. As noted by (Block, 1981, p. 113), "typical forms of resistance, or better symptoms of resistance, beside the most obvious form of attacking, are: Silence, debating unimportant things, staying away, coming to late to meetings, flooding with detail, intrigues, rumours etc...".This can be counter productive as has been proven by Kotter (1995) who shows that two thirds of the changes end in failure. Theorists agree that resistance is a natural reaction to change which need not be explained away with logic or ignored, it needs to be dealt with as soon as it encountered, acknowledging that people are humans with a bundle of emotions that need to be tackled. It therefore becomes important to elicit people's responses to change and address their concerns. The techniques available to change leaders for combating resistance abound in literature. Being participative (Coch & French, 1948, 512-532), using transition management (Ackerman, 1982, P. 46-66), making use of political diagnostic tools (Cobb, 1986, p.482-496), following an one to one approach (Coghlan, 1993), fostering a learning organization (Garratt, 1994), using the seven keys for successful change (Carr, 1994,55-58), or working as transformational leaders (Parry, 1996) are all helpful starting points for change leaders. The task however is challenging since it involves complex emotions. However, it is also true that when peo ple are asked to participate and their ideas respected, their commitment to the change process will increase (Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999).Final success can well depend on the maturity of change leaders (McClelland, 1975). It is also worth pointing out as noted by Chapman (2005), "certain types of people - the reliable/dependable/steady/habitual/process-oriented types - often find change very unsettling. People who welcome change are not generally

M.K. Ghandi The story of my experiment with truth Essay - 1

M.K. Ghandi The story of my experiment with truth - Essay Example As a consequence, ever person is liable for the truth and has a responsibility that it be recognized and valued by others. The first twenty seven chapters of the book see how Gandhi’s life is molded by his circumstance and then in turn sought to mold his own destiny. From his childhood, his being part of the Banya caste, growing up in Porbandar and Rajkot and being in general under the absolute duress of his parents social and political roles (4-7). He has a great respect for elders and people in authority, considers them beyond reproach or doubt. His experience as student, particularly the incident where he said that his teacher prompted him to cheat to impress a school inspector, reading Harishchandra and watching the play Harishchandra are key points in his childhood. These laid the foundations for his future treatise on truth and society which will led him to question what in his childhood he accepted so easily including his formative schooling experience and Hindu social customs (4). Gandhi considers his life experience as a process of contemplation, self-realization and application. In conjunction with his personal and professional development within and outside his primary context, he considers these as experiments that have allowed him to define his values and prerogatives. Such as in his early experience with eating meat, his commitment to avowing this food develops from compliance by rote and enforcement, defiance by subversion, rationalization through knowledge and finally true acknowledgment and acquiescence of the practice. This will set a pattern it seems for Gandhi: evident in the succeeding chapters of the book detailing his high school, college and early professional experiences in Africa and home. His life is highlighted by time of great self-doubt, conflicting familial and social aspirations as well as

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Business law - Essay Example 150). The Islamic doctrine would however not apply under the CISG because the convention overrules application of regional laws in international transactions (Schaffer, Agusti and Earle, p. 120). In the case, Bende made a contract with Ghanaian government for deliverables at a price of $ 158500. He then subcontracted to Kniffe who was to deliver the goods at $ 95000. Kniffe however failed to make delivery as the carrier train had derailed. Kniffe’s claim that the contract had been rendered impracticable is valid because the train wreck was unforeseeable and beyond his control. However, the performance is not excused because of the no force majoure clause that was contained in the contract sustains liabilities. The wreck was however unforeseeable (Fox, p. 143). Bende would be entitled to damages of $ 44685. This would include lost profit to which he would be entitled. This is due to compensatory damages doctrine that provides for a party’s restoration to the position he would have been had a contract been fulfilled. This includes profitability (Fox, p. 60). If the parties had agreed that Kniff would merely ship the goods then the risk would shifted from Kniff to either the buyer of Bende, depending on the original contract because property would have transferred to him (Schaffer, Agusti and Earle, p. 728). The importer is likely to win the case. This is because of two factors, the open price term of the contract and the force majoure clause that applies to contracts that have been rendered impossible. Under the open price term, the distributer is bound by the contractual terms that were entered into during contract formation. The force majoure clause also suspends any liability over contractual obligations when activities have been rendered commercially impossible. Adversely unfavorable currency fluctuation, being identified as a factor towards the clause, therefore releases both parties from any liability from the contract. Consequently, the