Richard II essays

Richard II essays Richard II is located in various parts of England and Wales. The tournament scene (Act I, Scene 2) is at Coventry, in the Midlands. Bolingbroke, although coming from Brittany, in France, lands on the north coast of England and undertakes the tediously long march southwest through the Cotswolds to Berkeley and on to Bristol. Richard returns from Ireland and lands at Barkloughly. He moves in a northwesterly direction towards Flint Castle, where he encounters Bolingbroke. The climactic scene takes place in Parliament in London. Then Richard is sent to the prison of Pomfret Castle, which is in Yorkshire. King Richard - Richard, the play's protagonist, is a poetic and intensely charming man, but a fatally weak monarch. His unshakable faith in his own quasi-divinity constitutes his tragic flaw, as does his bad judgment. He enjoys the role of performer, and after he is deposed, he casts himself as a martyr. Henry Bolingbroke - Bolingbroke is the Duke of Hereford and the son of John of Gaunt. After the latter's death, he becomes the Duke of Lancaster. Bolingbroke is a practical and ambitious man who replaces Richard on the throne. At the beginning of the play, Bolingbroke believes in the divinity of kings and in the need to obey them, regardless of their cruelty. He meekly accepts his sentence of exile. Only after his father dies and Richard reveals the extent of his corruption does Bolingbroke transform. However, he has misgivings about assuming power. As king he becomes Henry IV. John of Gaunt - He is the Duke of Lancaster and uncle to Richard. Gaunt is immensely powerful and wealthy. Shakespeare also casts him as a figure of great wisdom and dignity. He is loyal to Richard and cautions him from his deathbed against the flatterers who surround him; he also berates him for misappropriating royal funds. Duke of York - The Duke is modeled on the historical figure, Edmund of Langley. Initially, he is the strongest supporter ...

Afropithecus - Facts and Figures

Afropithecus - Facts and Figures Name: Afropithecus (Greek for African ape); pronounced AFF-roe-pith-ECK-us Habitat: Jungles of Africa Historical Epoch: Middle Miocene (17 million years ago) Size and Weight: About five feet tall and 100 pounds Diet: Fruits and seeds Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; relatively long snout with large teeth About Afropithecus Paleontologists are still trying to sort out the complicated relationships of the early African hominids of the Miocene epoch, which were some of the first true apes on the prehistoric primate evolutionary tree. Afropithecus, discovered in 1986 by the famous mother-and-son team of Mary and Richard Leakey, testifies to the ongoing confusion: this tree-dwelling ape had some anatomical features in common with the better-known Proconsul, and it also seems to have been closely related to Sivapithecus as well (a genus to which Ramapithecus has now been assigned as a separate species). Unfortunately, Afropithecus isnt as well attested, fossil-wise, as these other hominids; we do know from its scattered teeth that it fed on tough fruits and seeds, and it seems to have walked like a monkey (on four feet) rather than an ape (on two feet, at least some of the time).

Marketing Communications Programme of Adidas Essay

Marketing Communications Programme of Adidas - Essay Example The role of communication audit is to find whether the intended person is decoding the message in the manner, in which the messages were designed when encoded. When this communication audit is done on a real organization like Adidas, it gives interesting perspectives or results of their MarCom strategies. Adidas is the Germany based sports equipment and apparel manufacturing company, and along with Reebok, Taylor Made and Rockport constitutes the Adidas Group. Adidas is the second-biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue and reach, following Nike and when it comes to Europe, it is the largest manufacturer. (freebase.com). Headquartered at Herzogenaurach, Germany, Adidas is known for producing and selling high quality products with the aid of effective marketing strategies to a wide range of customers throughout the world. Although, it also provides its products to its brand endorsers and sponsored teams, its main focus is on the key stakeholder of customers. A didas has a set of stakeholders and according to its website they are Employees at the Adidas Shareholders, Board of Directors Business partners including suppliers, retailers, distributors, service providers, etc. Employees in their suppliers' factories Customers, which include professional sports people and importantly consumer (adidas-group.com). Among these stakeholders, customer segment are the key because, although other stakeholders will also be communicated regarding the company’s operations, the customers will be mainly communicated through various marketing campaigns for their products. The customer segment of Adidas constitutes people, who want to buy sportswear and equipments for their sports activities and also as part of their lifestyle activities. As Borowski (2011, p.7) states, Adidas could focus on the â€Å"middle and upper-class athletics, single and family-households with lifestyle and brand loyalty, whose income allows buying those goods.† When the age aspect is focused, Adidas’ target segment will be mainly in the age group of 14 to 30, however as Hall, Jones and Raffo (2007) states age will not be always a factor, because even people in their middle-ages will buy Adidas products as part of their lifestyle activities. This perspective was validated by Keegan (2009) as well, who stated, â€Å"Adidas still enjoys high brand loyalty among older Europeans†. Thus, the target customer base or key stakeholders of Adidas is slightly broad, and so Adidas has been communicating with all these customer segments through different MarCom strategies. To initiate these customer segment specific marketing campaigns, Adidas in the late 1990’s categorized its brand into three main groups, called Adidas Performance, Adidas Originals and Adidas Style Essentials, with each group constituting a range of products exhibiting a specific focus. This categorization of products

PAYING FOR FAILURE AT AIG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PAYING FOR FAILURE AT AIG - Essay Example 2. Yes, the decision of rewarding the executives was a wrong or a failure decision, as they were the ones that took the company to this stage. It was not necessary for AIG to retain those executive who were not doing well to the company. Instead of rewarding them, they should have been fired and the company should have recruited more qualified, able and committed staff that had the experience of corporate crisis management and could help company to come out of the danger zone. 3. Yes, had I been the president of AIG, I would have refused to pay bonuses to the current executive staff because they did not deserve it. Plus when the company is already incurring huge losses, rewarding them was a wrong decision to make. Moreover, rewards must always be given on the basis of performance and in this case, they did not perform well. Rewards are a sign of appreciation and encouragement for the employees. But rewarding employees when the company is already suffering huge losses is not the right policy as this would discourage others who have worked hard. In this case, the employees who are being rewarded are the ones who are responsible for the current losses of the company, and few are those who have already left the company thus that showed that they were not even loyal to the organization. 4. If I have received the bonus then I would have returned it because if I was one of those then I would know that I did not deserve to get a reward for doing nothing. I would have only accepted the reward after I could manage to get the company to come out of trouble, before that, I think I would have refused it. 5. Government should only use tax revenue to help boost the economy so that eventually it could help the common tax payers. But using that money unfairly is not just to the tax payers and economy itself. Investing money somewhere that will not directly produce any benefit to the masses is

Narrative Essay Example for Free

Narrative Essay When joining the armed forces, you never quite know what will happen or what to expect next. It can be an amazing or a gruesome journey, but it depends on how you want it to be. At the beginning the journey might seems scary and intimidating, but as time goes on, you soon get use to the lifestyle and learn a great deal from the experience. Before I joined in November 2008, I was going through a marital problem, I was weak, intimidating, and I have no one or where to turn to. I applied for job in so many places with no luck, due to me moving to the States three years before applying for the jobs, giving birth, and also I was a staying home mom going to school. But as time went by I couldn’t take it any longer, so I decided looking in to joining the military. When I joined, I wanted to be independent, strong, care for my daughter, and to learn something new without being intimidated by anyone in anyway. I actually entered the Basic Combat training on the 15th of November 2008, when the plane dropped us at the South Carolina air port and, the bus took us from there to Fort Jackson. The bus finally pulled up outside the in-processing building in Fort Jackson South Carolina by 12:30am. All I could think about was my little girl, how she was sleeping, what was she thinking about when I left, did she cried herself to sleep, can I stay without my daughter for a day, and what in God’s name I just got myself into. We were all tired and sleepy, some of us looked like we have been deprived of sleep for a week, but we all came there for a reason. As the bus driver open the door a male drill sergeant stepped into the buss, and started screaming and yelling at us to get off the bus. I never saw people who have been sleeping and look so tired to move that fast, but everyone was scrambling all over each other looking for an exit, because no one want to be the first to get chewed up. As we stepped out of the bus, we formed two lines, one with the girls and one with the boys. As we stood there, I was scared, nervous; my heart was pounding so fast, because I have never been in that position before in my life. I felt like my neck tense up, which made my head feels like it was about to fall of my body, but I was telling myself that I can do this, and reminding myself of the reason why I was here. We were out there for thirty minutes before they put us in a room, and sat us down according to our numbers, and were we came from. We were given a book called the smart book, which mean it has to be with us all day, and learn what the book says. It was intense: we had to learn so many things throughout our stay in Basic Training. We got our pt uniform (Physical Training gear) that early morning, and we went to sleep by 2:15am. It was a scary and crazy experience. I slept but we had to wake up about 6am, because we have to go through so many in-processing. I was so tired, my eyes were puffy, and hurt, my ankles hurt, but I have to toughen it up. We had to get tested for diseases, eye testing, and a number of other things. All those time, I thought about my little girl a lot, I cried every day, because I have never been separated from child since I gave birth to her, and that was the first time I have ever been away from her. I wondered what she was doing, how she feared, if she was eating the way she was supposed to, how much she missed me, even though I was only gone for 6 days, I felt so alone without my daughter. We had to wake up very early in the morning by 0040, stood in parade rest, in the cold for 4 hours with just pt pant, long shirt, and jacket. That did not help with the cold, because it was so cold, that my fingers were frozen, I could not felt it moving. We have no phone privilege during the reception, because we were being baby sit by the drill sergeant most of the time, and when I said being baby sit, I mean being smoked, pushed up, sit up, floor rocate, you name it, but you can’t let them see crying, because when they, you will be sorry for shedding a tears. All this time we were at a place called reception which was for 4 days, but we spent 6days, where all the loose ends with our paper work were done. The actual physical training was done at a different place in Fort Jackson. The sergeants were still very tough on us. About a month into the training I found myself used to the routine, even though the journey was tough, I endured everything. I hated pt, because we ran a lot, and my ankle hurt, but I kept pushing myself. My pt sucks at the beginning, but my sergeant won’t let me fail, because she was always on me, making sure that, I do not fail. I failed my first pt, second pt, third pt, but I passed at the end, with a good percentage. Before we knew we were making friends, looking out for each other, laughing together, and getting ready to graduate to go to AIT. Which is Advance Individual Training? But there were some ladies who cannot stand each other; there were time of argument, gossiping, jealousness, but we all live under the same roof and trained together. I endure the most horrifying road match, training, being smoked by my drill sergeant, and the long pt. Most times, I broke down and cried, because I thought that was a punishment, but looking back today, it was a training that was mean to save my life and others too. I become a very strong and independent woman, whom no one can intimidate no matter. I can stand up for myself in any situation, and I don’t let anyone take advantage of me.

Corporate Newsletter-Social Influences; Group Judgements and Decisions :: essays research papers fc

In recent months, the management team of this organization has been working tirelessly to diminish biases among group members and to establish a proposal focusing on the elimination of in-store employee theft. This criminal activity associated with inventory shrinkage and major revenue loss has proved to be a detriment to our company, but thankfully, is now in the process of being reversed. The success of our proposal resulted from the dynamics of an open discussion format in our group setting and the determination of each member to make the necessary modifications and improvements for this company. In the following article, I will review and discuss the systematic procedure of decision-making utilized by each member and the obstacles encountered so that others involved in management can replicate the knowledge and experiences acquired throughout this process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The panel successfully achieved a consensus decision by unofficially appointing a permissive leader and by relying on the positive effects of conformity. The leader encouraged each subordinate to take part in decision-making, giving him or her a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities. Once key components were decided upon, group members proceeded to conform to those judgments in order to begin the experimental phase of action. Individuals were given a deadline to present their contributions for the project, which allowed the opportunity of complete participation, as well as emphasizing the importance of discipline among management.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The required process for group decision-making noticeably and significantly differs from the format of individual decision-making. Many individuals can be relatively ineffective or incorrect when attempting to form a decision. They may become victims of common traps such as overconfidence, self-fulfilling prophecies, and behavioral traps. They are also vulnerable to satisficing, attribution theory, and other biases experienced regularly. However, when participating with peers, many become more effective and efficient. There are greater percentages of correct answers, and most members enjoy the positive atmosphere and camaraderie experienced within the group setting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although group interaction allows for a more dynamic outcome, there are still many biases associated with this system of decision-making. While avoiding many of these unnecessary biases, such as groupthink and group polarization, our management team unfortunately fell victim to others. To deter the effects of biased judgments, many members privately discussed techniques, and then presented that information, thus utilizing the benefits of subgroups. Also, each member avoided over zealousness of personal opinions, thereby eliminating group polarization and the choice shift phenomenon.

Ethical issues Essay

1. Environmental Hazards: The pollutants that business industry dumps into the environment are more than just ugly nuisance; they are killers. For example, air pollution has been found to be related to deaths from bronchitis, heart disease, as well as emphysema, and several types of cancers. Studies by the American lung Association have concluded that between 50 to 120,000 thousand deaths a year are linked to the air pollution that are disbursed by air from manufacturing companies. Ant there is little doubt that the depletion of the ozone is caused by atmospheric pollution. According to Coleman/ Cressey (2001), The contamination of our waters with poisonous waste, for example, lead, mercury and dumping radioactive materials at sea to include the sinking of certain types of vessel, has already taken many lives. Thus, alone the American industry creates 3000 new chemicals every year, and most of the hundreds of thousand of chemicals used by industry have never been thoroughly tested to find out how dangerous they really are. For example, Dell Computer has come increasing scrutiny for its failure to take a leading role in reducing the amount toxic materials in the production of computers. All so, Dell Computer is using prison inmates (cheap labor) to handle the recycling of computers component parts. Not only is Dell violating environmental laws and contributing to improper disposal of computers that contain high contents of mercury, but also is endangering the inmate’s health. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2005). The growth of our ecological problem actually started in the 1960’s, which prompted groups and individuals to lobby congress to establish laws to protect the public and impose stiff penalties on those businesses that violated the laws. Out of this era came the Radiation Control for Health and safety act of 1968, Clean Water Act of 1972, and Toxic Substance Act of 1976. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2005). The responsibility of enforcing these laws is entrusted to (EPA), Environmental Protection Agency. Even businesses of today, continue to behave in total unethically manner when it come to pollution. Many large corporation don’t have pollution control program and/or mechanism in place that places value on the environment, be it land, sea or air pollution. But, most violators of the â€Å"Acts† receive  just a â€Å"slap on the wrist†. Businesses are more concern about their own self-interest of profits. Thus, continue to show little regards to the fact they are destroying the environment as well as depleting precious resources. Furthermore, the present contemporaries are incline to affluent life style and their materialistic greed have made them careless about the environment. Just as the rules are written for ethical behavior and left open for ones own interpretation and compliance, the same could be said in reference to the pollution control â€Å"Act†, there is a right and wrong way to demonstrate â€Å"environmental awareness†, but organizations continue to ignore the fact that we are on a path of depleting our precious environment. 2. Equal pay for women. â€Å"I believe that not only must the hierarchical nature of the division labor between the sexes be eliminated, but the very division of labor between the sexes itself must be eliminated if women are to attain equal social status with men and if women are to attain the full development of their human potential†. (Hurst, 1998). Throughout history, women were directly involved in production. When the industrial revolution occurred, single women and children were recruited for example from New England to work in textile factories in Rhode Island. Supervisory positions were held by men. Female workers were paid only half of what men were paid, even though they made up approximately 75 percent of the workers (Eisler, 1977). Men were concerned about the entrance of women into the labor market because they felt that it would have a depressing effect on their wages. They fought to keep women out of the craft unions that later developed. Women held strikes in the 1830s and 1840s to protest reductions in wages, speed-ups in work pace, and working hours (Dublin, 1970). Wars change the face of a nation, to include the workforce. During the World War II, jobs held formerly by men were accessible to women. The influx of women into the labor force has continued in recent years. In general, women tend to concentrate in white-collar and service occupations, while men are  more spread out between white collar and blue-collar positions. A decline in occupational segregation has occurred in broad occupational categories, largely because of shifts in technology and organizational structures. But despite these general improvements, women still are found disproportionately in certain occupations such as nursing, teaching and hold only a small percentage of positions as computer specialists, scientist and engineers. Similarly, a man and woman may be both be in sales, but the woman is much more likely to be in clothing sales, while the mans is involved in selling of stocks and bonds. Craft occupations are another group of occupations in which women continue to be severely underrepresented (Herz, Wootton, 1996). According to a US Department of Labor (1996) report, in 1979, women who worked full time made about 63 percent of what men did, but in 1995, women earned about 75 percent as much as men. However, this decline may be due more to decreases in the earnings of men, in general, than it is to real improvement for women (Bernhardt et al., 1995). The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) guarantee that women holding essentially the same jobs as men will be treated with respect and fairly compensated regarding all rewards of work: wages, salaries, commissions, overtime pay, bonuses, premium pay, and benefits. However, comparisons cannot be made across different companies. Interestingly, employers may pay workers of one gender more than another on the basis of merit, seniority, quality and quantity of production, or any other factor other than sex. Given that women are still reaching a glass ceiling, particularly when it comes to upper management, CEO positions, these allowed practices are still discriminatory practices. How is equality of position established? By determining and setting criteria for skill, effort, responsibility, and working condition. Ivancevic (2004) maintains that the difference in wages includes also â€Å"any type of compensation such as vacations, holiday pay, leave of absence, overtime pay, lodging, food, reimbursement for clothing or other expenses†. In order to close the remaining earning gap, the concept of equal pay for equal jobs to be expanded to include equal pay for comparable jobs has become more widely  accepted. 3. Women comparable worth in the job market: The concept of comparable worth maintains that since females are discriminated in the labor market we have to look at the worth and intrinsic value of the job, and although jobs may be dissimilar in content (i.e. nurse and plumber), both are important to society and the organization. My wife maintains that she thinks that the garbage man/woman has a much greater worth and value (what would happen if the garbage wouldn’t be picked up?) than a doctor, for example, for she seldom goes to the doctor, at least not weekly. Even when men take â€Å"women’s work†, they are on top of the pay scale. The solution to the erosion of inequality is, regardless whether viewed from the perspective of equal pay or comparable worth, that women’s real wages have to rise faster than men’s whose wages don’t have to fall. Though laws now prohibit employers from paying a woman with the same qualification less than a man who does the same work. In support of women rights, I would like to see the law expanded to guarantee that the jobs in which most workers are mostly women are paid at roughly the same rate as comparable jobs in which most workers are men. My own personal experience of equal pay and comparable worth is linked to the military pay system. This particular pay system is a product of across the broad theory, that regardless of gender, the pay at this particular rank is the same for both male and female. There are four major factors that govern advancement for the sexes: education, time in service, training, and experience, though there are special incentives for those with critical skills. In other words, all jobs in this particular specialty are to be considered to be equal in pay for all. Therefore it is my belief regardless if you are male or female with identical qualification and capable of performing at the next level there should be no hesitation in advancement. It has been proven time and time again throughout ranks of military professionals, that women are just as capable and sometime more capable than men at performing the same job, but at a higher rate of success and enthusiasm. In closing, the net worth should be based on the value each job (not female or male) renders to the organization. Reference Bernhardt, Martina Morris, and Mark S. Handcock. 1995. â€Å"Women’s Gains or Men’s Losses? A Closer Look at the Shrinking Gender Gap in Earnings.† American Journal of Sociology 101:302-28. Dublin, Thomas. 1979. Women at Work. New York: Columbia University Press. Eisler, Benita, ed. 1977. The Lowell Offering. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. Herz, Diane E., and Barbara H. Wooton. 1996. â€Å"Women in the Workforce: An Overview.† Pp 44-78 in The American Woman 1996-7, edited by C. Costellor and B.K Krimgold. New York: Norton. Hurst, Charles E. 1998. Social Inequality: Forms Causes and Consequences. Allen & Beacon: Needham Heights, MA. Invancevich, J. M. 2004. Human Resource Management. (9th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. U.S. Department of Labor, January 1996. Employment and Earnings. Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office.