Increasing Prevalence Of Class Action Waivers - 1166 Words

This part of the Note provides a background of the increasing prevalence of class action waivers in arbitration. The first challenge towards them, as explained below, involved the California state contract law doctrine of unconscionability. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court eventually struck down this argument but the decision eventually sparked the now controversial circuit split which has led to the Supreme Court granting certiorari to grant clarity on the issue of class action arbitration waivers. A. The Unconscionability Doctrine and the State Court Challenges Arising Out of California Before the current developments, class action waivers in arbitration agreements came under fire through state law and the unconscionability doctrine.†¦show more content†¦In June, 2010, the Supreme Court issued an opinion which provided â€Å"a party may not be compelled under the FAA to submit to class arbitration unless there is a contractual basis for concluding that the party agreed to do so.† This case served as a precursor for the eventual maiming of the unconscionability doctrine as applied to class action waivers in arbitration. Ten months later in April, 2011, the Supreme Court released an opinion directed at the issue of unconscionability law in ATT Mobility, LLC. V. Concepcion. Although Concepcion involved a consumer claim, this decision struck down state unconscionability challenges under two separate factors. First, the Supreme Court reasoned that the Ninth Circuit and California Supreme Court implemented a process in Gentry and Discover which disfavored arbitration because it went above and beyond the state law rules of contract interpretation, therefore making the process unenforceable. Second, the Court determined the California Supreme Court, which determined class action waivers were unenforceable due to unconscionability, interfered with the purpose of the FAA to avoid judicial hostility towards arbitration and to promote arbitration in accordance with the parties’ agreements. In conclusion, the Supreme Court specifically explained the â€Å"point of affording parties discretion in desi gning arbitration processes is to allow for efficient, streamlined procedures tailored to the type ofShow MoreRelatedMedicare Policy Analysis447966 Words   |  1792 Pages 259. 260. 261. 262. 263. Relation to other requirements. Prohibiting discrimination in health care. Whistleblower protection. Construction regarding collective bargaining. Severability. Treatment of Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act. Actions by State attorneys general. Application of State and Federal laws regarding abortion. Nondiscrimination on abortion and respect for rights of conscience. Authority of Federal Trade Commission. Construction regarding standard of care. RestoringRead More103340399 TATA Nano Target Costing9564 Words   |  39 Pagesproduct development team is then given the responsibility of designing the product so that it can be made for no more than the target cost. In case of Tata nano the company decided on manufacturing a car that would be affordable for the lower segment class of the Indian population. It basically aimed at families with two wheelers and thus came down to engineering a car that would be sold for just a lakh. Then the target cost was exacted to about Rs 65000 per unit. A number of steps were taken to ensureRead MoreEssay about Agency Problem26370 Words   |  106 PagesG.A. Karolyi / Emerging Markets Review 13 (2012) 516–547 motivation for cross-border listing, inspired by Stapleton and Subrahmanyam (1977), Errunza and Losq (1985), Eun and Janakiramanan (1986), Alexander et al. (1987), which argued that the action taken by management seeks to overcome regulatory restrictions, costs and information problems that deï ¬ ne barriers to cross-border equity investing. Cross-listing shares across markets that would be otherwise â€Å"segmented† by such barriers opens theRead MoreNpa in Banks17095 Words   |  69 Pagesin the context of the type of lending being done. Some banks lend to higher risk customers than others and therefore tend to have a higher proportion of non-performing debt, but will make up for this by charging borrowers higher interest rates, increasing spreads. A mortgage lender will almost certainly have lower non performing assets than a credit card specialist, but the latter will have higher spreads and may well make a bigger profit on the same assets, even if it eventually has to write offRead MoreRoadmap to Csr Sustainability in Healthcare16191 Words   |  65 Pages    demonstrate    they    are    engaging    in    practices    that    go    beyond    regulatory    compliance    are    being    given    massive    support    from    governments   in   form   of   waivers   and   less   scrutiny.             †¢ Improved   Bottom   Line    All   of   the   above   factors   inevitably   translate   into   better   financial   performance   over   the   yearsRead MoreHuman Resources Management150900 Words   |  604 Pagesmore credibility with manufacturing workers, most of whom are hourly workers. Making the transition in HR management required going from seven to three levels of management, greatly expanding the use of crossfunctional work teams, and significantly increasing training. To ease employee and managerial anxieties about the changes, GE Fanuc promised that no employees would lose their jobs. Managers and supervisors affected by the elimination of levels were offered promotions, transfers to other jobs inRead MoreStrategic Human Resource Management View.Pdf Uploaded Successfully133347 Words   |  534 Pages......................................................654 Human Resource Evaluation ...................................655 OVERVIEW OF EVALUATION .................................. 657 APPROACHES TO EVALUATION .............................. 666 PREVALENCE OF EVALUATION ............................... 679 EVALUA TING STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF TRADITIONAL AREAS ............................................ 680 EVALUATING STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTIONS IN EMERGING AREAS ....................................Read MoreSdlc23489 Words   |  94 Pagesengineering excellence is of lesser importance. (v) Project control involves prioritizing development and defining delivery deadlines or â€Å"timeboxes.† If the project starts to slip, emphasis is on reducing requirements to fit the timebox, not in increasing the deadline. (vi) Generally includes Joint Application Development (JAD), where users are intensely involved in system design, either through consensus building in structured workshops, or through electronically facilitated interaction. 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The Social Fabric Of Late Eighteenth- And Early Nineteenth...

Jane Austen s novel is principally concerned with the social fabric of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England, a patriarchal society in which men held the economic and social power. In an often satirical portrait of the men and women attempting to gain a livelihood, Austen ironically points out faults in the system, raising questions about the values of English society and the power structure of the country. The novel is also engaged in an ideological debate that drives its plot and defines the essence of its main character. The precise nature of this balance is not necessarily clear, and despite what seems to be a happy marriage, it may not be entirely possible to reconcile Elizabeth s independence and naturalness†¦show more content†¦Darcy play the role of rich men. Mr and Mrs. Bennet are the parents of five unwed daughters. And they have conflicting thoughts about the arrival of the rich neighbours. Mr. Bennet thinks nothing of it, and has no new thoughts about the arrival of Bingley and Darcy. Mrs. Bennet sees flashing lights. She views it as the perfect chance to automatically place a few of her five daughters into the rich community. Marrying off her daughters serves the main purpose in Mrs. Bennet’s life. Mrs. Bennet wants her husband to go and make a greeting to the new crowd. Her plans are to get in contact with them and make aware her five bachelor daughters. Mrs. Bennet encourages her daughter, Jane, to set her sights on Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bennet’s sarcastic comments prove his disconcert on the whole topic. When Jane is invited to meet with Mr. Bingley and his sister, Mrs. Bennet suggests that she go by horseback in hopes that she could probably fall sick and extend her stay. Mrs. Bennet’s’ mind is always thinking of ways to marry off her daughters. Her idea works to perfection and Jane ends up staying longer. Mrs. Bennet goes to work again at the arrival of Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet’s cousin. Mr. Collins stays at the Bennet house for a short time. He will inherit Longbourn when Mr. Bennet dies, since he will be the only close male relative. Mr. Collins first intentions are toward Jane, but, Ms. Bennet informs him of Bingley. Collin then changes his target to Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet is

Library of Congress Free Essays

Years ago, Martin Luther King had a dream that all men and women would be equal, all students would be equal. Our laws and progression of civil rights and immigration has changed the United States Public Education System. Racial inequality and color prejudice has damaged the United States; affecting the American education system through legislation meant to help students. We will write a custom essay sample on Library of Congress or any similar topic only for you Order Now The differences in culture background and heritage are being traversed. Borders are supposedly being crossed. Educational theories and classroom practices are taking up new forms in order to conform and meet the educational needs of the global societies. Educators and teachers are being expected to share views and recognize values from different cultures, races, societies and ethnic groups. They are expected to move outside the system and custom of the dominant society and incorporate beliefs other than those they are accustomed with. Our laws and progression of Civil Rights and immigration has changed the United States public education system. The challenges that face our nation’s children relates to the civil right movements and immigration laws that have guided us to a direction of multicultural education. During the civil rights movement, there were two America’s, a black America and a white America. The school, bathrooms, water fountains, restaurants, bus seats, libraries, movie theaters, hospital floors, and even the line to see Santa Clause were all segregated based on the color of skin. African Americans went to school four months out of the year because they needed to help earn incomes the rest of the months. Their schools had no cafeteria, most with outside bathrooms; and their books were passed down from the white schools so they were all out of date (AARP, LCCR, Library of Congress, 2004). The school building that contained African American students were falling apart. The classes were overcrowded with too many students, and not enough room for all the needed classes and materials. For the most part, these students had teachers that were substitutes who didn’t know what they were doing. The teachers that were in these schools had fixed values for these students and did not provide curriculum that was interesting or pertained to the students who were learning. The assumption of teachers was that these African American students did not deserve â€Å"a great deal in life and that a little, even a very little, (a very little) for a Negro child is a great deal more than he or she has earned† (Kozol, 1990). Complaints were being vocalized with the school districts letting white students ride the bus to attend white schools, and black students had to walk to their school when they lived right next to an â€Å"all white† school (Rafferty, 1965). In 1951, the Supreme Court finally had to face and rule on the subject of Civil Rights. A group called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), created in 1909 to work towards eliminating segregation and discrimination, came together in a court case Brown versus Board of Education. African Americans had started filing suits against the educational systems as early as 1845, but the Supreme Court combined five cases to hear in 1951. The issues brought before the court was because of school conditions, segregation, deficient curriculum, pupil to teacher ratio, teacher training, extracurricular activity programs offered, transportation deficiencies, and of course teacher salaries (Brown Foundation, 1996). The discriminatory environment derived from civil rights and immigration issues unlocked, and then caused the world to see that human tendencies are to prejudge, discriminate against, and stereotype people based on their ethnic, religious, physical, or cultural characteristics. In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (347 U. S. 483), also called Brown I ruled by Chief Justice Warren, acknowledged learning to be the most significant task of state and local government and â€Å"repudiated the separate but equal doctrine†, deciding that â€Å"racially segregated schools were inherently unequal† (Cambron-McCabe et al. , 2004). The decision had great impact and important to the civil rights movement. The Supreme Court ruled that school had no place for â€Å"separate but equal† status (AARP, LCCR, Library of Congress, 2004). A year later the Supreme Court decision in Brown II defined how and when school desegregation would be achieved because there was no standard or deadline set in Brown I (Orfield Eaton, 1996). The legal precedence of this time caused far reaching social and ideological implications that brought about changes in the 1960’s and beyond. On the other hand, the legal wrangling did not make immigration and civil right issues disappear because of the ambiguity of the legal decisions. The 1960’s brought about race riots all over the U. S. , deaths because of race, and more laws that declared discrimination illegal (http://www. cnn. com/EVENTS/1997/mlk/links. html%20). On January 20, 1964, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the Presidency, after the sudden death of President John F. Kennedy. As America mourned the death of JFK, President Lyndon B. Johnson placed his hand on the Holy Bible that was being held by his wife and took the oath of office. On that particular day, Lyndon B. Johnson launched his new program called â€Å"the Great Society. † The agenda was intended to produce a better quality of life for all Americans (Campbell, 1965). Reporters knew the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson as a â€Å"legislative miracle. † In fact, Dick West of the Dallas Morning News wrote, â€Å"Mr. Truman couldn’t get started on a civil rights bill, because a rebellious congress passed an immigration law over a veto. Jack Kennedy took one whirl at federal aid to education, and then backed off. Then he tried to get Congress to set up a Department of Housing and Urban Development with Cabinet Status and was turned down in the House 264 to 150. † On the other hand, West writes that President Johnson was able to get these laws passed exactly the way he wanted them, thus being named â€Å"The Congressional Magician† (West, 1965 p. 2). President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964, during a luncheon honoring late President Abraham Lincoln in the East room of the White House. The bill was about discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964). â€Å"The President sat at a small table in the center with racks holding 72 pens, which was an insufficient amount. † He actually used over 100 pens to sign this triumphant bill into law (â€Å"Big Audience†, 1964). Robert F. Kennedy sat in the front row, Martin Luther King sat in the second row, and other senators and cabinet members attended (â€Å"Big Audience†, 1964). President Johnson’s speech was â€Å"swift but had great emphasis as he called on all Americans to close the springs of racial poison and eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved America† (â€Å"Big Audience†, 1964). The President spoke of the challenge that Lincoln bestowed upon America asking for â€Å"preservation of the union, enlargement of liberties for America and for being true to the Declaration of Independence which gives liberty to all. † The speech was a direct challenge for all Americans to ensure that all people including Black American’s will be a part of a â€Å"complete and equal† society (Negro Due, 1965). In 1968, the Supreme Court decision on Green v. County School Board of New Kent County gave the students the option to transfer from a black to a white school. The ruling states, â€Å"That schools must dismantle segregated dual systems root and branch and that desegregation must be achieved with respect to facilities, staff, faculty, extra-curricular activities, and transportation. † Because the Southern United States were fighting against the rulings of the Supreme Court because of their dissatisfaction of desegregation the case Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education in Mississippi ruled that desegregation must be achieved in every district at once (Orfield Eaton, 1996). Multi-cultural education is a program seeking to revise and reform both schooling and the political and cultural context of formal schooling and studying. It was designed to have a better impact to society by reducing racial tolerance brought about because of immigration and civil right problems that has plagued our nation. Several categories of programs that are designed encompass not only to restructure and reform subjects and curriculums at school but also to generate and increase contact among races. They are designed primarily to bridge the gap among races. However, instead of harmonious co-existence and peace being attained, the proposed inclusion of cultures to curriculum, poses lots of intriguing questions. The public is uncertain with their thoughts regarding the changing of curriculum. Often times, multi-cultural education has become the topic of numerous debates and disputes, resulting to a further division of the nation. Multicultural education is intended to decrease if not totally abolish race, ethnic and gender divisions. By helping students achieve the necessary skills and by guiding them they are being prepared in facing the challenges they would soon be encountering. Students are trained to equip themselves with the attitudes needed in order to survive in the real world. However, before such programs can be implemented, a thorough understanding of the real issue at hand must first be achieved. Factors such as demography, social class, funding, quality of educators, student’s cultural backgrounds and public interest should be carefully considered and taken in to account. References AARP, LCCR, Library of Congress (2004). Save Our History: Voices of Civil Rights. The History Channel: The Hearst Corporation. Big Audience: Over 200 Guests See Bill Signed (1964, July 3). Dallas Morning News. Section 1 Page 8. Brown Foundation (1996). Brown VS Board of Education: About the Case. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from http://brownvboard. org/summary/. Cambron-McCabe, N. H. , McCarthy, M. M. , Thomas, S. (2004). Public School Law 5th Edition. Pearson Education Inc: Boston. p. 149 Campbell, M. (1965). President Johnson Chosen 1965 Newsmaker of the Year. Dallas Morning News, December 24: page A12. Kozol, Jonathan (1990). Death at an Early Age. New York: Penguin Group. Negro’s Due Full Rights, Johnson Says. (1965, February 13). Dallas Morning News, Section A Page 1 Orfield, G Eaton, S. (1996). Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown vs. Board of Education. New York, NY. The New Press. Rafferty, Max (1965). Children Should Be Taught Sweep, Drama of U. S. Past. Dallas Morning News, December 16: Page A29 West, D. (1965). Johnson’s Legislative Miracle. Dallas Morning News, September 26: Section C page 2. How to cite Library of Congress, Papers

Micro Economics Competition and Entrepreneurship

Question: Discuss about the Micro Economics for Competition and Entrepreneurship. Answer: Introduction: The small business that the individual will desire to open is a restaurant that operates in a typically monopolistically competitive industry in the long-run equilibrium. The individual should not lower the price of the products that will available in the restaurant. This is mostly because; in the long-run equilibrium the restaurant will make zero profit (Nocco, Ottaviano and Salto 2014). In other words, the demand, marginal revenue, marginal cost and average total cost curve are illustrated in the following diagram. Figure: Monopolistically Competitive Market (Source: Created by Author) The three ways by which the product will be differentiated includes style, location and quality. Being a restaurant owner, the individual can differentiate its product in terms of style. In other words, they can serve coffee in porcelain cups that are to table by waiters. The food can be differentiated in terms of quality such as serving organic food (Kirzner 2015). References Kirzner, I.M., 2015.Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press. Nocco, A., Ottaviano, G.I. and Salto, M., 2014. Monopolistic competition and optimum product selection.The American Economic Review,104(5), pp.304-309.

Scarlet Letter Essays - Fiction, Literature, Roger Chillingworth

Scarlet Letter Hester's Devotion The Romantic movement in American literature greatly expanded the love story genre. In Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter he writes of adultery in a Puritan village. The story deals with the relationship between Hester Prynne, a young bride awaiting her husband, and Arthur Dimmsdale, an inspired Puritan minister who is beloved by the populace. Do Hester and Dimmsdale truly love each other? Hester does indeed love Dimmsdale, but the love is not returned by the preacher. It is obvious from the beginning that Hester loves Dimmsdale. When she is being grilled for the identity of the father of her child in front of the entire villiage, she cares for him enough to refuse to reveal his identity. When offered the chance to remove the scarlet letter "A" if she will but speak his name and repent, she stands up to the crowd and refuses to give in to its pressure. Another telling feature of her love for Dimmsdale is that she remains in the village as an outcast rather than fleeing to a more accepting environment, where she might possibly live a normal life. According to the narrator, she could not leave this place because "there trode the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union, that, unrecognized on earth, would bring them together before the bar of final judgement" (74). She realizes that she cannot lead a normal life in this community with Dimmsdale, but even so she cannot bring herself to leave him. This is telling evidence of! her love for him. She endures pain and torment alone, without even the support of her partner in sin. Even so, she still feels more anguish over being the cause of Dimmsdale's pain than she does for the humiliation of being branded impure before her community. As she states herself, under questioning by the ministers before the town "and would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!" (64). That she should feel guilt for causing him pain when he was as much involved as she was proves how deeply she does love him. Hester would love to escape her punishment, but only if she can still be with Dimmsdale. While conversing with Dimmsdale alone in the forest where no one can overhear, she brings up the idea of fleeing with him, and living a life full of love with him in another land. She says "So brief a journey would bring thee from a world where thou hast been most wretched, to one where thou mayest still be happy" (181). The world she is talking about here is a world deeper along the forest track where they can freely express their love for one another. When he seems hesitant to take that path, she suggests another route of escape. "Then there is the broad pathway of the sea!...It brought thee hither. If thou so choose, it will bear thee back again" (181). She is willing to give up her newfound acceptance as healer, from the villagers in a moment to win a chance to live in happiness with a man who has thus far shown her little support. Hester also shows her love for Dimmsdale with her courage in onfronting Roger Chillingworth with her intent to warn Dimmsdale of the threat Chillingworth poses him. She is willing to break the vow of secrecy she has made to Chillingworth, saying "I must reveal the secret...He must discern thee in thy true character...this long debt of confidence, due from me to him, whose bane and ruin I have been, shall at length be paid" (158). She knows that Chillingworth is a plotting, malevolent man, whose physical deformity reflects the deformity and evil content of his heart. Again she is standing up for the man she loves. In the same conversation, she tries to shift Chillingworth's malevolence off the man she loves and onto herself. She asks him "It was I, not less than he. Why hast thou not avenged thyself on me?" (158). Other examples of Hester's undying devotion include the description of what a loving person Hester is, when the narrator states "Hester's nature showed itself warm and rich; a well-spring of human tenderness" (148). With her nature thus revealed as naturally loving, it is easy to see why she is so devoted to Dimmsdale. Later, just before she tells Dimmsdale about the threat living in his own house, the narrator refers to

Bad Reasons to Enroll in an Online College

Bad Reasons to Enroll in an Online College If you’re thinking about enrolling in an online college, make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons. A lot of new enrollees sign up, pay their tuition, and are disappointed that their online classes aren’t what they expected. There are definitely some good reasons for wanting to become an online student, such as the ability to balance school and family, the chance to earn a degree while continuing work, and the opportunity to enroll in an out-of-state institution. But, enrolling for the wrong reason can lead to frustration, lost tuition money, and transcripts that make transferring to another school a challenge. Here are some of the worst reasons to enroll in an online college: You Think It Will Be Easier If you think that earning an online degree is going to be a piece of cake, forget about it. Any legitimate, accredited program is held to strict standards regarding the content and rigor of their online courses. Many people actually find online classes more challenging because without a regular in-person class to attend it can be difficult to find the motivation to stay on track and keep up with the work. You Think It Will Be Cheaper Online colleges aren’t necessarily cheaper than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. While they don’t have the overhead of a physical campus, course design can be costly and finding professors that are good at teaching and technologically competent can be a challenge. It’s true that some legitimate online colleges are very affordable. However, others are twice as much as comparable brick-and-mortar schools. When it comes to comparing colleges, judge each institution individually and keep an eye out for hidden student fees. You Think It Will Be Faster If a school offers you a diploma in just a few weeks, you can rest assured that you’re being offered a piece of paper from a diploma mill and not an actual college. Using a diploma mill â€Å"degree† is not only unethical, but it is also illegal in many states. Some legitimate online colleges will help students transfer credits or earn credit based on the exam. However, accredited colleges won’t let you breeze through classes or get credit based on unproven â€Å"life experience.† You Want to Avoid Interacting With People While it’s true that online colleges have less personal interaction, you should realize that most quality colleges now require students to work with their professors and peers to some degree. In order for colleges to receive financial aid, they must offer online classes that include meaningful interaction rather than serve as online versions of mail correspondence courses. That means you can’t expect to just turn in assignments and get a grade. Instead, plan on being active on discussion boards, chat forums, and virtual group work. You Want to Avoid All of the General Education Requirements Some online colleges are marketed towards working professionals that want to avoid taking courses like Civics, Philosophy, and Astronomy. However, in order to keep their accreditation, legitimate online colleges must require at least a minimal amount of general education courses. You may be able to get away without that Astronomy class but plan on taking the basics like English, Math, and History. Telemarketing One of the worst ways decide to attend an online college is to give in to the continual calls of their telemarketing campaigns. Some of the less reputable colleges will call dozens of times to encourage new enrollees to sign up over the phone. Don’t fall for it. Make sure that you do your research and feel confident that the college you choose is right for you. The Online College Promises You Some Sort of Goodies Free GED courses? A new laptop computer? Forget about it. Anything that a college promises you in order to get you to enroll is simply added to the price of your tuition. A school that promises tech toys should probably receive quite a bit of scrutiny before you hand over your tuition check.

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business Assignment

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business - Assignment Example (Recall.gov, 2010) The other aspect that needs highlighting is that the company must not violate the ethical and normative rules of business by pushing defective products into the market. Hence, I would stress on the damage to the company’s reputation and consequently to the bottom line apart from issues of ethics and responsibility. In case where defective products have been shipped to the customers, I would deal with care and caution as there are multiple issues involved here. First, customers have to be informed in a manner that would not alarm them and also alert them as to the steps that the company is taking to ensure the recall or replacement of defective products. At the same time, the customers should not perceive the company in a bad light and hence, the communication regarding the recall or replacement of the defective products must be done in a responsible and honest manner. Honesty is especially important as the trust that has been built up by the company must not be lost. Hence, I would assure the customers of the company’s resolve not to repeat the occurrence of defective products being sold. Further, I would invite them or the representatives of consumer watchdogs to come and visit our facilities to see for themselves the steps being taken by us to ensure that we sell only quality products . (Wired.com, 2010) The answer to this question flows from the last few sentences of the previous answer. First, I would take to task the employees responsible for the situation and ensure that key personnel who are in charge abide by the company’s directives and are committed to the vision and mission of the company. Next, I would immediately order a review of the processes and procedures and remove any bottlenecks that are holding up quality. Finally, I would direct the marketing and corporate communications departments to convey and communicate the company’s resolve not to repeat the same in a clear

My experience of studying abroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My experience of studying abroad - Essay Example Therefore, our expectations from the government were really high until the day I was denied admission in prestigious universities because of not having the `right` contacts or connections in high positions. This unfair treatment, not only affected me, but my entire family as well. â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere†. This is a saying by Martin Luther King Jr, a strong promoter of equal rights, who believed that the entire human network is bound together and if one individual suffers, then it affects the entire human race (Injustice Quotes, Web). What is injustice? It is the violation of the rights of other individuals, by treating them unfairly or not giving them their rights (Injustice Definition, Web). Every human being is entitled to a fair, just and an equal treatment and it is the responsibility of a country`s government to make sure that no prejudice is taking place Being denied admission in one of the most prestigious colleges of Russia, I am one of these countless victims who suffer from discrimination worldwide. Since childhood, my parents have encouraged me to work hard in order to fulfill my dreams. Education has always been an important part of my life. I strive for academic excellence, always willing to make the most of it. Along with studies, I have been involved in extra-curricular activities like sports, public speaking and even voluntary services. All of these made me an excellent candidate for this college and I had my hopes high. All my family and friends were sure that I would get in as I fulfilled all the criteria of this college. As this was a public college, my education would have been for free and my parents were happy about it. When half of my classmates were accepted, I was just waiting for my admission and my teachers were sure that I my admission letter was on its way. But I kept waiting and waiting. My professors and colleagues told me not to give up hope and assured me that there had been some mistak e. I wondered whether I had made some blunder in submitting my application and started blaming myself. After much pressure from my instructors and family, I wrote to the college again and asked for the status of my application. The very next day, there was a letter in my mailbox from this college. My family became really excited knowing that it was my acceptance letter. As soon as I read it, tears filled my eyes. Thinking that they were tears of happiness, my family started hugging and congratulating me. The pain that I felt at that particular moment was the worst of its kind. I did not know how to tell my parents about the truth, knowing that it would ruin the perfect smiles on their face. But I knew I had to tell them, there was no other way. With much courage, I told them it was not an acceptance letter and was a rejection one. The expressions on their faces made it worse for me. Thinking that their ears were deceiving them, they took the letter from me and realized that I was sa ying the truth. They embraced me and assured me that this college was not worth having such an outstanding student like me. But whatever they did, I know that my life-long dream had been destroyed. But why was I rejected? I fulfilled their criteria then what possible reason did they have for rejecting me? The answer was clear and obvious. My parents did not have high contacts in the government and that was the highest criteria that any candidate should fulfill before getting accepted in this college. Not just this particular college, but every other public college here. Many of my classmates were rejected because of this reason only. My instructors understood this but there was nothing they could do and they advised

The major problem or issue currently facing natural resource managers Assignment

The major problem or issue currently facing natural resource managers in agriculture - Assignment Example The resource based activities in which the rural poor are engaged in include petite extent farming, animal production, fishing, hunting, mining and logging. They therefore rely on returns from these activities as their most important sources of earnings. They therefore plummet back to innate wherewithal when these sources fail. For them the natural resources foster consistency and reinforce the net security of the entire community. Bell and Park (2006) explain that the above does not however mean that the rich live their lives independent of natural resources. They derive more ecological proceeds from natural resources because they are proficient to exercise stronger control over the resources due to their greater administrative influence they have as compared to the underprivileged. One of the major problems facing environmental managers is scheming and preventing environmental degradation. Its impact spread to all aspects of the economy and not just the surroundings. Environmental slump leads to loss of species that impact negatively on the environment and abridged agricultural productivity that lead to poor economic growth. Bates (2003) explained that those who rely on the environment should do so with resilience and little or no vulnerability. Therefore, the problem faced by natural resource managers is how to ensure that the resources are used with pliability or less susceptibility while at the same instance deriving benefits. The strain in the natural resources is caused by uninhibited increase in population growth, this increases dependency on grain imports, loss of biodiversity and neglect of conventional farming techniques. This is caused by the migration of people to the urban areas to look for employment (Bellamy, Meppem, Gorddard and Dawson 2005). The establishment, testing and continuation of adaptive capability of natural and societal systems is becoming of huge concern to the managers in agricultural sector because of unfavorable climate change, poor water use and management in Australia. The actions of human beings are of great concern because they impact on natural resources with greater implications on social and economic development, sustainable livelihoods and environmental management. Land use and greater pressure on social systems are caused by increase in bucolic non farm money-making activities and increased urban population. Emergence of the problem of environmental conservation is of great complexity due to the multiple causes, problem perspectives and solution approaches. The solution approaches are also faced with poor institutional settings. Part of the solution approaches to curb the problem of conservation therefore requires a shift from federalism to proper ascendancy. This leads to interrelations of processes, structures and tasks. Australia represents countries with accelerating levels of environmental degradation and the complexity of natural resource ascendancy. There are however frameworks within the A ustralian Federal System to address the accelerating periodic challenges of sustainable natural resource and social systems. Sustainable formation, testing and maintenance of opportunities therefore refer to the goal of nurturing capabilities and creating viable opportunities. New-fangled cohort of authority in Australia is experimented to deal with issues relating to vitality of varying

Case Study Of Toyotas Vehicle Recall Management Essay

Case Study Of Toyotas Vehicle Recall Management Essay This study focuses on the risk of reputational damage from a crisis situation and uses the Toyota recall crisis as a case study. The study examines Toyotas actions as relates to preserving its reputation as more than 8 million of its motor vehicles are recalled from 2009-2010. In order to do this, Toyotas actions are benchmarked against critical risk factors identified in the Roads to Ruin report conducted by Cass Business School for Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce (AIRMIC). The findings from the case revealed that a serious breakdown in Toyotas culture and a violation of its clearly stated principles of quality and customer-focus were the root causes of its reputational decline. Upon closer examination of the Toyota case, we find that the Toyota crisis escalated majorly because the company seemed to have no plan whatsoever to prepare for a crisis of the magnitude it faced and hence failed to protect its reputation. The case goes on to highlight various risk management that can be incorporated by businesses, managers and CEOs to preserve their reputation in crisis situations and avoid common pitfalls that lead to reputational decline. Table of Figures Executive summary This paper explores the subject of corporate reputation and the risk a crisis situation poses to a companys reputation. The main objective of this study is to extract risk management lessons from a crisis situation that can be used by managers and CEOs to avoid reputational decline in similar circumstances. The paper is structured as a case study that focuses on Toyota Motor Corporation as it faced the greatest threat to its reputation the recall of its vehicles in 2009. It explores key factors that made Toyota vulnerable during the recall and explores the effects of the recall on Toyotas reputation. In order to determine the underlying risk factors that exacerbated the crisis, Toyota is benchmarked against critical risk factors identified in the Roads to Ruin report a research report on risk management by Cass Business School for AIRMIC. The report was chosen because it provides a rich source of lessons about risk, risk analysis and risk management by detailing over one hundred specific lessons about risk from different case studies of companies in reputation-damaging crisis situations. Upon closer examination of the details of the Toyota case, we find that Toyotas reputation was damaged because the company seemed to have no plan whatsoever to prepare for a crisis of the magnitude it faced and hence failed to protect its reputation. Amongst other reasons for Toyotas reputational decline were these factors: management were not communicating effectively with stakeholders during the crisis; decision making was centred in Japan where the company was head-quartered making the crisis response very slow. We also find that Toyota shelved its corporate values which made it a symbol for quality in its quest for growth. In order to understand the Toyota crisis, the paper starts off with a brief introduction of Toyota Motor Corporation, highlighting its businesses and its reputation before the recall crisis. A timeline of the recall is also included to provide an overview of the flow of events during the period under review. Literature on corporate reputation, its importance and ownership is reviewed in the second part of this study whilst chapter three sets out the methodology employed in this study. Chapter four and five represent the crux of this work examining Toyotas actions in more detail. The research work ends with important recommendations for managers for preserving reputation in a crisis situation. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: Introduction Glass, China, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended. -Benjamin Franklin. A few years ago, if we talked about companies with good reputations, the Japanese carmaker Toyota might have been mentioned. 2008 in particular was a good year for Toyota; Toyota was arguably one of the top brands worldwide, scoring high points for reliability and product quality on various reputational studies. It was the 6th top brand in the world according to interbrands Top 100 brands in the world list and was highly reputed for its reliability, customer-focus, and world-class quality. By the 27th of February, 2009, Toyota had moved up to third place on the Worlds Most Admired list, behind only Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The company had the coveted AAA rating from Fitch and customers and car-enthusiasts alike had come to equate Toyota with quality. Even the companys philosophies, visions and advertising campaigns were unequivocal in stressing its commitment to quality However as Toyota recalled vehicle after vehicle in 2009, its pristine reputation for quality was badly damaged. Toyota literally drove into a reputational crisis like it had never seen before; the crisis was exceptionally damaging to the companys reputation as it struck its perceived core competence safety and quality. Company Background TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the automobile and financial business. The Company operates through three business divisions. The Automobile segment is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of car products including passenger cars, minivans and trucks, as well as the related parts and accessories. The Finance segment is involved in the provision of financial services related to the sale of the Companys products, as well as the leasing of vehicles and equipment. The Others segment is involved in the design, manufacture and sale of housings, as well as information and communication business. For its automotive operations which is the focus of this study- Toyota produces and sells passenger cars, minivans and commercial vehicles, such as trucks. Toyotas vehicles can be classified into two categories: conventional engine vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Toyotas product line-up includes subcompact and compact cars, mini-vehicles, mid-size, luxury, sports and specialty cars, recreational sport-utility vehicles, pickup trucks, minivans, trucks and buses. The Companys subcompact and compact cars include the four-door Corolla sedan and the Yaris. In North America, Europe and Japan, Toyotas luxury line-up consists primarily of vehicles and other luxury sport-utility vehicles sold under the Lexus brand name. Toyota sport-utility vehicles available in North America also include the Sequoia, the 4Runner, the RAV4, the Highlander, the FJ Cruiser and the Land Cruiser, and pickup trucks available are the Tacoma and Tundra. Toyota also sells the Century limousine in Japan. Toyotas product line-up includes trucks (including vans) up to a gross vehicle weight of five tons and micro-buses, which are sold in Japan and in overseas markets. Trucks and buses are also manufactured and sold by Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota. Hinos product line-up includes large trucks with a gross vehicle weight of over 11 tons, medium trucks with a gross vehicle weight of between five and 11 tons, and small trucks with a gross vehicle weight of up to five tons. More than its cars, Toyota is well known for its TOYOTA WAY a set of principles and behaviours that underlie the Toyota Motor Corporations managerial approach and production system. These principles have been taught in various business schools and adapted in various organisations. The principles are summarised in the figure below: Figure : The Toyota way (Source: Hispage TONOway) 1.2 The Recall Crisis Toyotas recall fiasco took a disastrous turn on the 28th of August 2009 in San Diego, California. According to news reports, Mark Saylor and his wife, daughter and brother-in-law (Chris Lastrella) were killed when their Lexus, on loan from a dealer, careened out of control at more than 100mph, collided with another vehicle, and crashed into a ravine, setting the car ablaze. Figure : Inset is a picture of the vehicle after the accident (Source: PowayPatch) The familys high-speed tragedy was captured via a 911 call; the fear in the caller Chris Lastrellas voice was apparent as he said there are no brakesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we need to pray and finally, their high-pitched screams as the car crashed. Over the next six months following this incident, Toyota would issue three separate recalls related to vehicle speed control for over 8 million vehicles; costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and immeasurable reputational damage. As the crisis intensified, Toyota became the target of adverse media attention with criticisms coming from various stakeholders for its actions during this period, and for its delay in identifying the fault and recalling the affected vehicles. 1.3 Timeline This section provides a chronological flow of the events leading up to and surrounding the recall crisis 2000 A cost cutting exercise called Construction of Cost Competitiveness for the 21st Century is launched by Toyota with the aim of reducing the cost of 180 car parts by 30% and saving $10 billion by 2005. 31-12-04 Toyotas vehicles accounted for about 20% of all unintended acceleration complaints filed with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), up from 4 percent in 2000. 26-09-07 First floor mat recall in US of 55,000 vehicles to correct possible drivers floor mat causing accelerator pedal entrapment. 28-08-09 Off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor is traveling on Highway 125 in Santee, California (northeast of San Diego), with three family members, when the 2009 Lexus ES350 he is driving suddenly accelerates out of control, hits another car, tumbles down an embankment and catches fire. While the car is careening down the highway at speeds estimated to exceed 100 mph, his brother-in-law calls 911 and reports that the car has no brakes. All four are killed in the ensuing crash. 14-09-09 Preliminary reports from Toyota and local authorities indicate that the Lexus, which had been on loan from Bob Baker Lexus of San Diego, where Saylors personal Lexus vehicle was being serviced, may have had the wrong floor mats installed, interfering with the gas pedal. 29-09-09 Toyota announces it is recalling the floor mats on 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. 2-10-09 Newly installed Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda publically apologizes to the Saylor family members killed in the accident and to every customer affected by the recall. 30-10-09 Toyota begins sending letters to owners notifying them of an unspecified upcoming recall to fix the unintended acceleration issue. In the letters Toyota says no defect exists. 2-11-09 NHTSA takes the highly unusual step of publicly rebuking Toyota, calling a company press release re-iterating the statements made in the 30 October letter to owners inaccurate and misleading, noting that the floor mat recall was an interim measure and that it does not correct the underlying defect. Toyota publicly apologizes. 02-11-09 Second floor mat recall in US of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to correct possible drivers floor mat causing accelerator pedal entrapment. 25-11-09 Second recall of 3.8 million vehicles amended to additionally reconfigure accelerator pedal. 26-12-09 A Toyota Avalon crashes into a lake in Texas after accelerating out of control. All four occupants die. Floor mats are ruled out as a cause because they are found in the trunk of the car. 21-01-10 Toyota recalls another 2.3 million Toyota-brand vehicles because of a problem with the gas pedal. Toyota says a rare set of conditions which may cause the accelerator pedal to become harder to depress, slower to return or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position. The company says the new recall is unrelated to the floor mat recall, but also announces 1.7 million Toyota vehicles would be affected by both recalls. 26-Jan-10 Toyota stops selling eight models in the US after being sanctioned by the NHTSA to halt selling vehicles with acknowledged defects. Toyota does not say why it has waited five days to stop sales after announcing the recall. 29-Jan-10 Recall extended to 1.8 million Toyotas in Europe and China. 02-Feb-10 U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sharply criticizes Toyotas response to the accelerator pedal concerns, telling the Associated press that Toyota may be a little safety deaf and that while Toyota is taking responsible action now, it unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point. 09-Feb-10 Recall of 437,000 Prius vehicles and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to correct possible faulty hybrid anti-lock brake software 23-Feb-10 Public hearings of various committees of the U.S. House of Representative regarding the Toyota safety issue. At the hearing, Toyoda publicly apologizes before Congress and pledges renewed commitment to quality and safety from Toyota. 24-Feb-10 Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota, issues the following statement at the congressional hearing: Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyotas priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers voices to make better products has weakened somewhat. We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that. I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced. Especially, I would like to extend my condolences to the members of the Saylor family, for the accident in San Diego. I would like to send my prayers again, and I w ill do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. 1.4 Aims and Objectives The Toyota case study is an insightful one as it involves the review of management response in a crisis situation that involved major loss of lives and regulatory action. By focusing on Toyotas management response, the aim of this study is to provide useful recommendations for preserving corporate reputation in a crisis situation. The work will focus on Toyotas response, its crisis management and the effect of the crisis on the companys reputation. In so doing, the author aims to extract essential risk management lessons from the case. The objectives of this study are to: Trace the underlying cause of the crisis using the risk factors identified in the Roads to Ruin Report by Cass Business School for AIRMIC. Evaluate the impact of the incident on the ratings, profitability and reputation of the company. Evaluate the actions of the CEO, highlighting what he did well and what he did not do so well. Outline the main consequences of the crisis for shareholders and other stakeholders Outline the key risk management lessons to be learnt. Every reputational crisis is different and there is no panacea for a reputational crisis but this research work seeks to provide a valuable tool for protecting and managing reputational risk when a crisis occurs. In order to fulfil the objectives listed above, the following research questions will be answered: What made Toyota particularly vulnerable during the recall crisis? How did the recall crisis and its ensuing consequences affect the financial position and reputation of the company? How was the recall handled? How could it have been better handled? What lessons can be learnt such that a future crisis is managed better? What was the impact of failing to meet its stakeholders expectations on Toyotas reputation? CHAPTER 2: Literature Review O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An foolish notion Robert Burns Every individual, every company, every organisation be it a large multi-national or a small food kiosk by the corner- have one thing in common; a reputation. Over time, every contact, every media mention, every rumour, every leak, every piece of gossip (whether true or not) will play its part in forming an overall impression of an organisations standing. This built up reputation not only has a significant impact on share price; but also influences the strength of the brand and determines its competitive advantage amongst its peers. As Bill Margaritis puts it: a strong corporate reputation is a life preserver in a crisis and a tailwind when you have an opportunity 2.1 Corporate Reputation: An Overview In recent years, the idea of reputation as a strong business asset has received increased recognition in management literature. Series of publications have appeared dealing with the benefits of positive corporate reputations, risks to reputation, and reputational risk management. This increased interest grew out of a realization that an organizations reputation is a major determinant for its short run and long run success and differential advantage in any business environment. Furthermore, the last decade has seen many of the worlds most admired companies descend from their once lofty positions. In light of all these, it is not a surprise that corporate reputation has started to feature prominently on Swiss Res and Aons study of the top ten risks identified by corporate executives. This emphasises the point that management and other stakeholders have started to see the importance of corporate reputation and the various factors that make up the reputation of their firm. Fomburn (1996) defines reputation as the overall estimation in which a company is held by its constituents which can be formed based on the net perception of a companys ability to meet the expectation of all its stakeholders. This perception will usually be based on both the organisations actions and inactions such that everything an organisation does, and does not do, has a direct impact on their reputation Dolphin (2004). Other authors, such as Bromley (2001) emphasize the differing nature of reputation and describe reputation as the distribution of opinions about a person or organisation A more balanced view of corporate reputation according to (Warwick, 1992) is the view that corporate reputation is in itself an aggregate evaluation made by stakeholders of how well a company is meeting stakeholders expectations based on its past behaviour. (Atkins, et al., 2006), also address corporate reputation and reputational risk from this perspective and define reputational risk as the threat to a companys reputation resulting from a failure to meet stakeholders reasonable expectations of an organisations performance or behaviour. Corporate reputation should (also) be considered in terms of its historical context, i.e. a corporations track record. A companys standing in the community and in the marketplace all help shape its reputation Fomburn (1996). A reputation is much more than brand image, and includes factors such as trust in the organisations integrity and how it will conduct itself in the future, both at the corporate level and through the actions of its management and staff. . (Atkins, et al., 2006). It is also an important form of corporate capital that determines to a large extent the companys worth, quite simply, it is an index of a companys worth or value (Bromley, 2000). In determining corporate value, most authors have come to agree that a reputation is an indicator of a companys future performance. A favourable reputation is powerful enough to convince the undecided to choose a certain product or service and dissuade existing customers from moving to a competitor; whereas a damaged reputation can be irreparable and in extreme cases, lead to a companys down fall (ORourke, 2004). In order to build a favourable reputation, four attributes need to be developed: credibility, trustworthiness, reliability and responsibili ty. Reputation is in itself intangible, untouchable and most times immeasurable. Reputation often cant be quantified, compared against hard benchmarks or analysed in the same way as financial or other numerical data. Its management requires softer skills such as sound judgement, an ability to anticipate future trends and requirements, understand stakeholder concerns, listen carefully, consider dispassionately and respond constructively. (Rayner, 2003). A good corporate reputation can take many long years to build; it can be destroyed in an instant through an ill-considered off-the-record remark, a lapse in personal behaviour, an ethical blunder in the supply chain or an inadequate response to a crisis. In the words of Warren Buffet who is considered the most successful investor of the 20th century it takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it. An area where authors share different views is as regards ownership of reputational risk. The first school of thought argues that one person or a group of people be appointed with the sole responsibility of preserving the companys reputation. It is probably due to the inefficiencies of some CEOs over the years in safeguarding reputation that some authors argue that a reputation officer or a reputation department be charged with the responsibility of handling and sustaining the corporate reputation. Others have criticised this view for various reasons, the main one been that, appointing a chief reputational office tends to remove the awareness of the importance of safeguarding corporate reputation from the Board of Directors and other top executives. Another school of thought is the one which states that every member of the organisation is responsible/accountable for the corporate reputation. As good as this argument might sound (it does make some sense for everyone in the organisation to be aware of maintaining the organisations good name), the loophole is in the danger that this leaves the accountability for corporate reputation as everyones task which in most times equals no ones task. The third school of thought argues that the responsibility for corporate reputation should rest on the CEO. According to this school, various studies have shown that CEOs understand the importance of a good reputation and hence should safeguard it. However, studies have also shown that few CEOs put any structure in place to safeguard the reputational asset of the organisation. It is disappointing to note that many CEOs who are supposed to be the custodians of the companys reputation have actually been the villains responsible for tarnishing the companys reputation. (This was certainly the case with AIGs Hank Greenberg). One important reason why CEOs should be responsible for reputational risk rests on the fact that when people think of a company, they are usually thinking of the CEO, with his actions/inactions invariably contributing to the reputation of the organisation. As Dr Leslie Gaines-Row pointed out in an interview, failure to maintain a good reputation should rest squarely on the shoulders of the CEO because in her own words: CEOs increasingly find themselves in the spotlight during crises and are without question a strategic player in reputation recovery. Their success in managing reputational difficulties is one of the determining factors in whether stakeholders retain confidence in the company and believe that reputation will eventually be restored. For this reason, failure to maintain a good reputation rests squarely on the CEOs shoulders. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Studies show) that nearly 60 percent of the blame is attributed to the CEO when crisis strikes. As the companys public face during times of crisis, and the companys chief reputation officer, the CEO should remain visible, and communicate honestly, transparently and proactively. CEOs must also present themselves to stakeholders, whether it is customers, financial analysts or employees, consistently with the companys vision, code of conduct and values. By taking responsibility, acting quickly and compassionately, listening carefully, and establishing clear priorities, the CEO can set an example for reputation recovery for the entire organization. Reputation is the most important asset entrusted to a CEO (Schreiber, 2011). Not all CEOs recognize that, but a growing number do. In a 2009 global study, AON Insurance asked 551 CEOs to rank the relative importance of 31 risk factors. Reputation was ranked No. 6. In past AON studies before the current financial crisis, reputation was the top-ranked CEO risk factor. But, what is troubling is that two-thirds of the respondents had no formal reputation risk plan in place, and that figure has not changed substantially. 2.2 Effects of a Favourable Corporate Reputation Strong reputations act as cushions in case of a crisis and have the ability to protect a company from harm caused by a crisis. A favourable prior reputation protects the organisations reputation during a crisis in two aspects: it gives the organisation the benefit of doubt, which means that if a consumer holds a general favourable view of the company, the consumer might assign the company less crisis responsibility which in turn result in less reputational damage from the crisis; secondly, it acts as a shield, which serves as a part of the larger psychological phenomenon of expectancy confirmation, emphasizing that stakeholders will focus on the positive aspects of the organisation and ignore the recent negative information created by the crisis (Coombs and Holladay). In these ways, a good prior reputation perceived by consumers has the potential to reduce attributed crisis responsibility and dismiss the impact of the crisis. Strong, trustworthy reputations will usually always mean g reater resilience in crisis situations. The occasional lapse of a reputationally strong company is likely to be regarded as a one-off aberration, because it has a solid track record and its values and business ethos are clearly understood the reaction will most probably be a shrug and a thats not like them rather than a there they go again (Rayner, 2003). A typical case is that of oil companies who were ranked rather low in public opinion. In cases where oil companies have faced major crisis, consumers have been less sympathetic with these corporate group. The BP case and the Exxon Vladez case are typical examples. A study in the late 1990s of the performance of US companies during the 1987 stock market crash found out that the shares of the ten most admired companies dropped less and recovered faster, while the shares of the ten least admired companies plunged three times as far a very strong indication that having a good corporate reputation can pay real dividends. Various authors have identified several benefits of a good corporate reputation: (Atkins, et al., 2006) state that a good reputation is highly valuable and can benefit a company enormously. Potentially, it can result in: Banks being willing to supply loans on more favourable rates and terms: Good employees being attracted to work for the organisation, and their services being retained Investors being more likely to place their capital in the firm; Improvement in sales Maintenance and enhancement of market share Public perception of the organisation as an asset to the society in which it operates (John Croft, 2003), identify similar benefits: Securing profits and future cash flows Attracting new business partners Securing investment Attracting new customers word-of-mouth In ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uencing political and legal affairs Human capital: retaining good staff and attracting the best employees Allowing easier entry to new markets and brand extensions Enabling successful mergers and acquisitions Helping to reinforce relationships with suppliers and distributors and other direct stakeholders Enhancing relationships with NGOs or corporate activists that potentially could be aligned against you 2.3 Area of Further Research One area of interest for future research work identified while carrying out this research work is on handling reputation risks from social networking sites and other online media sources the so called web 2.0. Web 2.0 allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue and the mediums include social media sites like Facebook, blogs, twitter and other mediums which allow people to freely air their opinions. This area is important because in recent times, a lot of companies have had their reputation damaged through web 2.0 mediums. What makes web 2.0 dangerous is that response time is very limited; the most time an organisation has to squelch rumours or avoid a reputational disaster is 24 hours. It would be immensely helpful if further research is done into helping companies and various organisations cope with the risks from these mediums. CHAPTER 3: Data Collection and Research Methodology 3.1 Data Collection Data has been collected from a wide range of secondary sources; newspaper articles, academic journals and online resources. This study was also based on documents from five categories of media: (i) print newspapers, (ii) online editions of print newspapers, (iii) the Associated Press newswire, (iv) Blogs, and (v) Internet forums. 3.2 Methodology The research is tailored as a case study. This method gives a multi-perspective approach, incorporating the views of direct stakeholders, indirect stakeholders and the interactions between these two groups. This case study will be based mainly on secondary data. The paper will comprise the collection of secondary data from a broad variety of sources such as business academic journals, books, reports, newspapers and internet articles on the Toyota vehicle recall crisis. All information will be taken from the public domain and the author has put into consideration the possibility of errors in press reports and other sources. The research will use various underlying risk classifications identified in the Roads to Ruin report by Cass Business School for AIRMIC to trace the underlying cause of the crisis. The Roads to Ruin report is a highly valuable guide for this research as it investigates the origins and impacts of over twenty major corporate crises of the last decade. The report was chosen because it provides a rich source of lessons about risk, risk analysis and risk management detailing over one hundred specific lessons about risk. This will be particularly helpful as I develop my recommendations on this subject. A crisis communication framework developed by (Lukaszewski, January/February 1999) would also be used to analyse Toyotas crisis response. CHAPTER 4 Review of the Recall Crisis In this chapter, the author shall in line with the research objectives, test the effectiveness of Toyotas reputational risk response to seven key risk areas identified in the Roads to Ruin report and in so doing trace the deeper cause of the crisis. According to the report, these key risks areas include: Board skill and Non-Executive Directors (NED) control risks -risks ar

Rap Vs Poetry Essay example -- essays research papers

"When I first started rapping, me and a couple brothers would all sit around my place freestyling while someone beat boxed. I even used to tell all the girls that I was a poet. They seemed to find it a little more touching than a rapper" (Prince Paul, The Source 16) The lyrics of rappers are very similar to the words of Black poets. It is argued as to wether or not rap is a viable form of poetry. Both discuss similar subjects, write in the same style and use the same type of language in their writings. When looking at a poem or reading rap lyrics, distinguishing between the two can be difficult, if not impossible.Both Black rappers and Black poets write about the same subjects. For example the rap group NWA, and the poet Alice Walker, both cover the topic of being from a minority race. Alice Walker states in one of her poems that "there is no planet stranger than the one im from" (Walker, "Note Passed To Superman" 18-19). What Alice is saying is that the world is strange because people judge others by their skin color. The approach NWA takes is a more presumptuous one. In the song "Fuck Tha Police", NWA says " Young nigga got it bad cuz im brown / And not the other color so police think / They have the authority to kill a minority" (NWA "Fuck Tha Police" 3-5). Another common subect between Black poets and rappers is "ghetto life". Nikki Giovani's poem called "For Saundra" is about how she is going to write a poem about trees and blue skies. Then she realized that she was living in a "concrete jungle". i wanted to write / a poem / that rhymes / but revolution doesnt lend / itself to bebopping / then my neighbor / who thinks i hate / asked -do u ever write / tree poems- i like trees / so i thought / i'll write a beautiful geen tree poem / peeked from my window / to check the image / noticed the school yard was covered / with asphalt / no green - no trees grow / in Manhattan / then, well, i thought the sky / ill do a big blue sky poem / but all the clouds have winged / low since no-Dick was elected / so i thought again / and it occurred to me / maybe i shouldn't write / at all / but clean my gun / and check my kerosene supply (Giovanni "For Saundra")What all this is about is simply the reality of the urban ghettos. Gangstarr als... ...;. To all my brothers in the streets / I know u feel you have to hustle cause your peeps gotta eat / Makin moves right and exact; don't wanna see you layin' flat / Don't wanna see ya catch a bullet black / If we don't build we'll be destroyed / Thats a challenge we face in the race of poor and unemployed (Gangstarr "In Memory Of")This song by Gangstarr is about life on the streets and what one must do to survive on the streets. The messages found in theses rap songs and poems are important messages that must be listened to. They speak about what is happening in society and what we have to do to change it or in some cases stop it. In conclusion, the lyrics of rappers are very comparable to the spoken words of Black poets. There can be comparisons made in the style of writing, the subjects, language and the messages behind the writings. All of these similarities make rap a viable form of poetry that is enjoyed and understood by young people in today's society. Today's teenagers, in many cases, would, not read poetry and comprehend the message, but, they would listen to rap and be able to understand the idea the artist is trying to get across.

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay

Chris Brown and Usher are two contemporary hit music performers. Both men display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each artist came from poor families. Each artist has made it to the top of the Top 40 music charts, more than once. Each artist has had the opportunity to work closely with Michael Jackson and has been tagged as potentially being the next â€Å"King of Pop. †Chris Brown and Usher, through their music have entertained hundreds of thousands of faithful fans. Though Chris Brown and Usher share similar music backgrounds, each has a unique music style which gives to us, the fans, the gift of their exquisite talent, with all of its strengths and joys. Tragedy struck both of their lives on June 28, 2009, upon learning of the death of Michael Jackson. Each of them described Jackson’s death as tragic and untimely. Chris Brown related this experience during the BET Music Awards on June 29, 2009. Usher expressed himself in his last CD released entitled â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond. †Although both expressed the great loss of Michael Jackson, the way that each depicted the incident was distinct. Chris Brown emotionally let loose on the stage at the 2009 BET Awards. He was very emotional and expressed his mourning with long comments, always keeping his tense present. Chris also chose words that were sure to get an emotional response from the fans that he and Michael Jackson have shared for the last several years. For example, when talking about how Michael Jackson invited him to the Neverland Ranch when he was just getting started in the industry, Chris Brown said, â€Å"I was just beginning to get materials together for my 2006 self-titled debut release, when I got a call from Michael Jackson expressing interest in my work. He invited me to the Neverland Ranch and helped me organize what became my first certified platinum album. †An illustration of more words from Chris Brown in reference to Michael Jackson can be found in the August, 2009 edition of Rolling Stones Magazine. He speaks of losing one of the mentors of his music career and speculation from the media that he could be the next â€Å"King of Pop. †The style and choice of words Chris Brown used made the reader aware that he was in mourning, but was indeed ready to step up to the plate to replace Michael Jackson as the â€Å"King of Pop. † Usher expressed his emotion in a more â€Å"unemotional† tone via â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond,† his latest CD release and on a limited edition DVD that was included in the first 100,00 copies of the CD sold. Usher used past tense, which told his fans that while he was mourning Michael Jackson and that Jackson was the King of Pop, that reign was gone, but not forgotten. His words were free of the severity of the loss. The words came off as harsh to his many fans. Instead of trying to elicit a particular emotional response, Usher was mourning in his own way, somewhat cold and detached. He didn’t even show up for the Michael Jackson Tribute at the 2009 BET Music Awards, claiming that he was too torn up over the loss. For instance, having given an account of his history with Michael Jackson on the DVD, he said, â€Å"I felt like I had lost my own life for just a moment in time. †The viewer felt his pain for a moment in time, however, the brevity of the emotion made his fans wonder about the sincerity of the emotion. Chris Brown, on the other hand, openly expressed himself over the loss of Michael Jackson with true sincerity, Usher explains, â€Å"he felt like he lost his life for a moment of time,† moving on like it was a sad moment, but eager to claim the title of â€Å"King of Pop,† as speculated by media. Chris Brown wanted the fans to feel with him. Usher wanted the fans to grieve for just a moment and move on to the next chapter. They achieved their objectives by directing the fan’s attention to a specific style of expressing their emotions, one more open, and the other, more cold. The emotional focus of Chris Brown’s response to the death of Michael Jackson was sincere. As I watched him mourn on national television and then read his story in the Rolling Stones Magazine, I felt like I lost one of my best friends, too. I looked back at my first concert experience, which was Michael Jackson’s Thriller Tour, and got teary-eyed. Chris Brown never let go of his love for the King of Pop and was never really concerned about replacing Michael Jackson as the new King of Pop. On the other hand, Usher’s mourning is short-lived. It was clear that Usher was going to step up to take the thrown of King of Pop the day after Michael Jackson died. He concentrated less on the mourning of Michael Jackson and more on the idea of being the next King. It would be impossible not to address the ways in which both men studied under Michael Jackson at one time or another. Chris Brown got some good training from Michael Jackson prior to the release of his very first CD. Usher was semi-discovered by Michael Jackson’s people and spent a lot of time at the Neverland Ranch with Michael Jackson. My most powerful emotional response throughout watching both of these celebrities mourn their mentor was one of incredible sorrow. When I look at both Chris and Usher’s overall reaction to the death of Michael Jackson, I felt the tremendous weight that sadness and despair can fold around a heart. I wanted to offer comfort to them both, however, by the end of the mourning period, I only wanted to comfort Chris Brown. It was obvious that Chris Brown’s wound was still cut open and bleeding. Chris Brown and Usher are extremely good recording artists. From each we receive a rare gift. As Chris Brown showed on the stage at the 2009 BET Music Awards, he was really torn over the loss of Michael Jackson. Usher showed us that he had ulterior motive.

Ufos Essays (1596 words) - Unidentified Flying Objects, Free Essays

Ufo's Essays (1596 words) - Unidentified Flying Objects, Free Essays Ufo's We once believed that Earth is the only planet in the Universe that supports life. Today there is overwhelming evidence that not only suggests, but supports the very real possibility that we may share the Universe with other intelligent beings. I. Things in the Sky A. The First Documented Sighting B. The Fever Spreads 1. Pilot Encounters 2. The Lights in the Sky II. Dents in the Earth III. Unexplained Phenomenon A. The Writing on the Wall B. Geodes IV. What About Religion? A. The Christian Bible B. The Ancient Greeks C. The American Indian V. Conclusion We are not Alone. On June 24th, 1947 while searching for the remains of a downed Marine C-46 transport, lost somewhere in the Mount Ranier area, a young Idahoan businessman named Kenneth Arnold spotted something that would change his life forever. Just north of his position flying at an altitude of 9,500 feet and an unprecedented airspeed of 1,700 mph he spotted nine circular aircraft flying in formation. According to his estimate the aircraft were approximately the size of a DC-4 airliner ( Jackson 4). This account was the first sighting to ever receive a great deal of media attention. This sighting gave birth to the phrase flying Saucer coined by a reporter named Bill Begrette. Although not the first UFO sighting in history, Kenneth Arnolds account is considered to be the first documented UFO sighting. The following day Mr. Arnold discovered that in addition to his sighting there were several others in the Mount Ranier area that same day (Jackson 6). When most of think of UFO sightings we picture an unemployed, half- crazed, alcoholic hick living in a trailer park in the middle small town USA. Often times this description, although a little exaggerated, seems to fit fairly well. In the past when the average person spotted a UFO they were quickly discounted as a kook or con-artist in search of either attention or monetary reward. It wasn't until more reputable figures in our society began to come forward that w e that we started looking at this issue a little more seriously. An article written 1957, entitled Strange lights over Grenada written by Aime' Michel describes just such an account: At 10:35 p.m. on September the 4th, 1957 Cpt Ferreira ordered his wing to abandon a planned exercise and execute a 50 degree turn to port. Ferreira was attempting to get a closer look at what he described as brilliant, pulsating light hanging low over the horizon. When the turn was completed he noticed that the object had turned too. It was still directly over his left. There was absolutely no doubt that the orange light was shadowing the F-84s. For another 10 minutes, it followed the jets without changing direction or appearance. The pilots watched as four small yellow discs broke away from the large red object and took up a formation on either side of it. All at once the large luminous disc shot vertically upward while the smaller discs shot straight towards the F-84s. In an instant the flat disc sped overhead in a hazy blur and vanished. When Cpt Ferriera was questioned by Portuguese Air Force Investigators he was quoted as sayingPlease don't come out with the old explanation that we were being chased by the planet Venus, weather balloons, or freak atmospheric conditions. What we saw up there was real and intelligently controlled. And it scared the hell out of us. (32) This is only one of literally hundreds of pilot accounts that have been documented and cross verified by other sources. To date the Portuguese Government has taken no official position as to what the luminous discs were. The United States has had more than it's fair share of unexplained aerial objects. In February of 1960 the N.A.A.D.S. (North American Air Defense System) spotted a satellite of unknown origin orbiting the Earth. They knew that it sn't a Soviet satellite because it was orbiting perpendicular to trajectory produced by a Soviet launch. It also had a mass estimated at 15 metric tons, no evidence of b ooster rockets and traveled at speed three times faster than any known satellite. The satellite orbited for two weeks and disappeared

Existentialism main ideas Essay Example

Existentialism main ideas Essay Example Existentialism main ideas Essay Existentialism main ideas Essay Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. Jean-Paul Sartre states this, which happens to be one of the main ideas of an existentialists mind. Jean-Paul Sartre uses his play No Exit to show people the ideas of existentialism. Existentialism must first be defined before the ideas of it are shown. Those ideas are being aware of ones existence, freedom to make choices, to be responsible for ones actions and what they result in. The word Existentialism first appeared in 1941. It is a philosophy based on the situation of the individual in an absurd or meaningless world that humans have free will. Its roots are inside the works of S. Kierkegaard and F. Nietzsche. Sartre took it as a philosophy of human decision and views. It has been described as a Philosophical movement oriented toward two major themes, the analysis of human existence and the centrality of human choice.1 Others have also define it as a radical stress on the concept of identity. . ..2 Some has a more elaborate definition. . . .is the endeavor to understand man by cutting below the cleavage between subject and object which has bedeviled Western thought and science since shortly after the Renaissnce.3 However all of them tie into each other for the main idea is that as human beings; have free will to make choices, regardless of things that could otherwise stop us. The chief theme of existentialism, of course, is existence itself. Flowers, animals, and stones all exist. But people exist in a different way.4. To Sartre, to exist meant to be. What he meant when he stated this is that in order to exist, you must first be aware of your existence. He compared this to the action of counting how many of something there is. Using this he said that in order to count, it is necessary to be aware of counting5 . He went further to help his thought make more sense by talking about pleasure and that Pleasure can not exist before consciousness of pleasure6 In other words, Something cant exist before there is an awareness that it exist (this includes actions , items , people and ones self) With Sartres ideas and views in mind, he uses all of them inside the book. It is found almost as if Sartre said it directly to the readers. One example is the character Inez, thinking and reflecting on what life meant to her. As she does this, she realizes that her life is what she had been. Inez: One always dies too soon or too late. And yet ones whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are your life, and nothing else.(p.43) Making a direct statement to an existentialism idea, it appears that Sartre didnt mean for his message to go without notice. He bluntly places brief ideas that are apart of existentialism. Using the idea of the fact that one cannot helped but to exist whether they are conscious of it or denying it, He makes the character Garcin try to pretend to not be in the room. Inez then reminds him that . . . You can nail up your mouth, cut your tongue out but you cant prevent your being there.(p22) Sartre very own definition of being is a bit harder to figure out . . .The individuals unique pattern of potentialities. and that those would be a unique pattern for this particular person.6 Inside the play , he uses this idea by showing the many outcomes that can come from the threesome being stuck in hell, including leaving it. All of them can be saved, given different things by each other, but because of each of them being what the other needs, clashes with the chance of being saved and no longer being torturer or tortured. It becomes apparent that the idea of existence is a large message inside the play, for it shows there is even existence after death. Sartre, aside from how he felt about existence, felt that freedom of choice by all means meant that everyone has the freedom to choose and pick how they wanted to live their lives. Sartre once stated that My fear is free and manifests my freedom7 What that meant is that he chose to have fear and thus choosing to have fear in itself reflects his freedom. Inside the book, all kinds of choices were made. Inez: Estelle! I beg you, let me stay. I wont go, I wont go! Not into the passage. Garcin: Let go of her Estelle: Youre crazy. She hates you. Garcin: Its because of her Im staying here. (p42) When Garcin pulled the door open, he had the choice to leave. This could have resulted in the end of the torment and wouldve in turn become free. But he picked to stay because he wanted Inez to view him as a tough (a strong, real man). They all stayed in turn because what they desired stayed, bound into one another because of what they wanted. All this is based on the principle that each individual chooses what he wishes to be and expresses his choice in every aspect of his behavior. . . 8 Another idea that existentialists believe came with freedom is the idea that freedom to choose scares individuals to the point of denial. Garcin: So its you whom I have to convince; you are my kind. Did you suppose I meant to go? No I couldnt leave you here, gloating over my defeat with all those thoughts about me running in your head (p42) This was in turn , showing the fact that when Garcin had been granted a way out of the room he had been damned to , he didnt want to leave and felt like he couldnt, although, he very well could have. His freedom, open to him just as he had wish to gain, looked him in the face and he threw the idea out the window. Garcin, saying that he couldnt show that he had the freedom to convince himself that he could not leave, Supported the idea showed by all the characters in the book that they try to escape from this anxiety by ignoring or denying their freedom . . .9 Sartre believes that in the changing of ones path by ones desires. He felt that ones desires are the limitations that are place on ones freedom. . . . I project myself towards my ends. The recovery of former motives or the rejection or new appreciation of them is not distinct from the project by which I assign new ends to myself and by which in the light of these ends I apprehend myself as discovering a supporting cause in the world10 This idea appeared inside the play as each of the characters interacts with one another. Each one, chasing after something only the other could give to them. For instance, the character Inez chases Estelle because she desires her. Inez, preferring the company of a woman, chased Estelle while Estelle, preferring the company of a man, ran from her. Inez: Come to me, Estelle. You shall be whatever you like: a glancing stream, a muddy stream. And deep down in my eyes youll see yourself just as you want to be. Estelle: Oh, leave me in peace. You havent any eyes. Oh, damn it, isnt there anything I can do to get rid of you? Ive an idea. [She spits in Inezs face] There!(p.34) The fact that Inez wants Estelle is what keeps her from being free of her torture and suffering. But because of her desires, she will be forever damned to be in this same situation. Same applied to Estelle as she chased Garcin. Estelle: [raising her hand] Please, Garcin. Garcin: What do you want of me? Estelle: [rises and goes up to him] You can help me, anyhow Garcin: If you want help, apply to her (p.31) Estelle only desired for a man to hold and kiss her. This being the bases of her torture, Garcin wanted nothing to do with her. This cycle remained only by the limits that each of them set on themselves. Cause and Effect are things we implicit inside our lives by nature. There is a basic understanding that when things happen, it also in turn, has an effect. With having freedom, comes the responsibility of our actions and choices. Sartre believed that in all moral choices, one has to uphold one moral and disobey another.11 Sartre showed that all characters inside of the book were responsible for their placement inside hell. Garcin: Let that be. Its only a side-issue. Im here because I treated my wife abominably. Thats all. (p24) some felt that responsibility is the dark side of freedom. When individuals realize they are completely responsible for their decisions, actions and beliefs, they are overcome with anxiety.12 But to be responsible for ones actions didnt mean that one had to see the outcome of them. This does not mean, of course, that one must foresee all the consequences of his actions. The emperor Constantine when he established himself at Byzantium, did not foresee that he would create a center of Greek culture and langaguage , the appearance of which would ultimately provoke a schism in the Christian Church and contribute to weaken the Roman Empire13 This just meant that you didnt have to know what the result would be in order to be responsible for your actions. This idea is one of the bigger themes inside the book as each character had been introduced; each of them denied that they deserved to be damned to hell. The group in turn, realizes the wrong doing that dealt them their fate, and accepted it. The acceptance of the reality of their damnation is the taking responsibility of the deeds done on earth. Yet they could have never foreseen that the result would be hell (no pun intended) Sartre showed, all throughout the book No Exit, very big and apparent messages that are existentialism views. Sartre showed that one must be aware of ones existence, freedom to make choices, to be responsible for ones actions and what they result in. Each character inside the play in turn showed all these ideas in different forms and actions. This brings alive the statement made by Sartre saying that Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

Social Media and Brand Reputation Dissertation

Social Media and Brand Reputation - Dissertation Example Reputation risk has been considered the primary threat to business operations and the market value of their organizations. Despite this, organizations have been neglecting reputation risk management strategies. Thus with the aim to educate businesses on the ways in which brands might deal with ‘viral’ social media events to ensure they do not damage the reputation of the brand, three objectives were set in Chapter I. This was a qualitative study based on secondary data and after extensive literature in Chapter Two the study has achieved its objectives. The study finds that social media has changed how businesses function. Social networking applications create and manage a digital expression of people’s personal relationships or links. Social networking has the ability to expand social contacts, accelerate business processes, improve customer relations, reduce cost of recruitments, improve staff morale, motivation and job satisfaction among employees. It also provi des a collaborative learning environment where knowledge workers can be grouped together. Social media can be termed as an alternative communication tool which supports existing relationship and enriches the users’ experience. ... Web 2.0 technology presents opportunities for companies to be closer to their customers, to their markets, to observe and collect information. Companies form online brand communities where consumers can have direct but non-intrusive connection with the brand which generates a sense of belonging to the group. However, the same social media platform can also damage the brand reputation. Social software is susceptible to intentional attack when groups or an individual can bend the system to suit its purpose. Users have the freedom to express strong emotions and incidents soon go ‘viral’ which negatively affects the reputation of the organization. Social media fuels new expectations about the organization and it becomes essential for the organization to respond to it. Corporations have little control over information flow and information posted with malicious intentions can damage corporation’s reputation that may have taken years to build. Social media crises have oc curred because social business readiness is lacking even in the most advanced companies. Thus, the study concludes by presenting a model to educate businesses on the ways in which brands might deal with ‘viral’ social media events. Imitations to the study have been highlighted and recommendations for further research in this sector have been made. Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Problem statement 2 1.3 Research aims and objectives 3 1.4 Structure of the study 3 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Chapter Overview 5 2.2 Definition – social media and social networking 5 2.3 Potential of Web 2.0 technology and social networking sites (SNS) 5 2.4 Benefits of social media

MUSIC REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MUSIC REPORT - Essay Example The music starts soft, with strings ushering in soft music and later on would crescendo into a complete expression of his love for Cosima. The events in Wagner’s life prompted the composition of the Idyll, a piece that remains to be one of his greatest masterpieces to this day! Upon listening to the music, the notes take a relaxing mood, moving into a sweet caress of the notes. In the later part of the Idyll, the notes become more melancholic, more serious, bringing the mood back to reality, reflecting Wagner’s struggle throughout his career. However, this struggle was lifted and made lighter by Cosima, whom Wagner referred to as his eternal support. Sigfried Idyll reflects Wagner’s romantic nature, as recounted, he held Cosima’s hands, â€Å"and she was beside him as he wrote down the last notes for the full orchestral score of Sigfried†. This brilliant composition is a very good expression of love and life – a balance of feeling blessed, an d struggles one continuously face. Another brilliant composer, whose work remains popular up to this day, is Ludwig Van Beethoven, a German composer and pianist. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 was written between 1796 and 1797, and was played for the first time in Prague, in 1798, by Beethoven himself. Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major generally has an upbeat melody, with a faint melancholic transition in the middle, and then rising once again into its upbeat spirit. This piece combines dramatic classical style of lively contrasts and symmetrical forms. With the forceful nature of Beethoven’s music, he gave voice to the new current of subjectivism and individualism which emerged at the coming around of the French revolution, as well as the rise of the middle class. In listening to this piece, Beethoven conveys the message of freedom and equality as the notes â€Å"demand† and â€Å"protest† with its forceful, rhythmic patterns. Piano concerto No. 1 in C Major certainly