Political Stability Essay

Political instability has become a huge and serious problem for both developing and underdeveloped countries. Pakistan is also in one of these countries which is facing the problem of political instability. The instability of government, inefficiency of political parties and a weak political culture make Pakistan a politically instable state. Political stability is important for keeping the society integrated, maintaining legitimacy, economic development and supremacy of law in a state. In political stable condition people have power they use their powers for the development of nation, and in politically instable condition people feel powerless, lose their trust on government and they prefer their own interest in front of state and then the society leads to split. Political stability is very important for nation-building. There are many countries which have comparatively stable political system such as in China, Egypt and so on. Many underdeveloped nations of Asia and Africa including Pakistan have been confused as how to overcome the problems of national integration, economic development, political participation which have been grown simultaneously in these states. There are five issue areas as described by Lenard Binder, which causes political instability in a state. These areas are: â€Å"Identity crises, legitimacy Crisis, Penetration crisis, Participation crisis and distribution crisis. † These all issues play an effective role in making the politics instable, but we only discussed the first two issues, the identity crisis and legitimacy crisis in Pakistan. Identity crisis creates negative effects on the sentiments of nationalism and the feeling of people towards political system. The dismemberment of East Pakistan and present situation in Sindh and balochistan is occurring due to the identity crisis. Identity crisis mostly occurs in pluralistic societies in the form of ethnic, language and religious differences. Pakistan is also a pluralistic society that’s why politically instability becomes more serious in Pakistan and the role of our leaders becomes more important than any other factor. In Pakistan there is also a problem of dysfunction of federal system. The federal crisis occurs when the pressure of regional demands goes to an extreme and don’t get satisfactory response from the state, and it cause separation from the federation. East Pakistan break-up was also due to this reason. A federation cannot exist or survive without a spirit of partnership and co-operation between the provinces and centre. The problem of identity and legitimacy crisis is closely related to each other. The sense of identity may also be developed by accepting the legitimacy of the authority. The legitimacy crisis regarded with the form of governmental institutions, the break down in the constitutional structure and the authority of leadership. Legitimacy crisis occur when people reject the leaders claimed based on historical preference and the leaders thrown out when they fail to fulfill the promises and then this situation leads to the crisis of authority. The problem of political stability in the context of identity and legitimacy crisis in Pakistan has been sharpened mainly due to the effects of rapid socio-political mobilization and, excessive and un institutionalized role of civil and military bureaucracy, which has unbalanced the entire political order of the country. The leadership in Pakistan is always from top to bottom, and in actual the process of becoming a leader starts from bottom to top, in which the first step is social welfare service then entering in political arena. The leadership in Pakistan is based on family patterns. In Pakistan the family leadership is popular amongst people because of lack of education. The lack of education and decay of leadership are the two most important contributing factors to the political instability in Pakistan. In Pakistan political instability is also due to our weak history of leadership that’s why the theme of a national leadership lost in these various levels of leadership. The other form of leadership exist in Pakistan for a long time is dictatorship and it rule in three decades. Dictatorship also the cause of political instability, it makes the institution of leadership weak. Weak organization of political parties also makes Pakistani politics instable. The present political trend in Pakistan is forming coalition amongst different political parties, which is the reason of current instable conditions. Coalition set up is considered temporary arrangement in political scenario everywhere in the world. Lack of clear majority of anyone political party also shows that people do not trust any of these partners that is why all enjoy less support. The most important and immediate challenge the political instable condition of Pakistan is creating is mishandling of issue of war on terrorism. Since September 2008 USA leading the NATO forces started attacking frontier areas of Pakistan and violated the sovereignty of Pakistan in the name of combating terrorism and chasing the terrorists may be hiding in these areas. These attacks are increasing by the times. Moreover, the indirectly contributing factor towards the worsening political situation is external interference of other powers for their selfish interests. Pakistan is a rich country in terms of important minerals, gas and important coasts the finding of resources and being a gate way towards the hot waters has made Pakistan an attractive country for external powers. The present world is a global world where every field is determined by intense competition: state craft, conduct of diplomacy, effective policy making, and strong economy are the most important challenges every state has to face. Political instability in any state leads to disorder amongst the units. The global world is providing aid and support to Pakistan but in presence of insincere leadership and political instable conditions the huge foreign aid is not giving any positive results. If we consider the case of Pakistan, it seems quite agreeable that adequate economic growth could only be possible if there are stable institutions in the political order. The political stability can be achieved if legitimacy of the institutions and personal legitimacy of the ruler has been solved. Conclusion: The present political instability in Pakistan has increased the external and internal challenges for its society and state. The present and immediate need of the time is a stable political system, since Pakistan has to combat inside terrorism, has to face and convince its own people that this war is necessary, and Pakistan has to satisfy its allies and as well as neighbors and manage the pressure that Pakistan is taking positive steps to counter the situation. The main problem in this whole scenario is lack of trust amongst Pakistan and the allies and neighbors keep exploiting the situation. This situation has endangered the future of Pakistani people who are now considering Pakistan is an insecure place. Without politically stability Pakistan did not become the world best state.

School Unifoms

Part 1: Purpose The purpose of my bill is to give some children their freedom and creativity back, by allowing them to express how they feel through their clothes instead of wearing a uniform. Being able to tell a little bit about someone at first sight just by their clothes isn’t always bad. Even though school uniforms would make equality among the children, its also blocking their creativity and giving them the wrong message on how to look at things. People always say how horrible it is to judge people by what they wear or by what’s on the outside, but it’s not all stereotypical.Just by looking at someone you can tell a little bit about them, such as if they like different bands, or movies or games. You can tell if they don’t care about their appearance, or if they shop at expensive stores you can tell they might be wealthier. Clothes are a big way of expressing how you feel about different subjects. This bill will help people be able to do that. Another reason that we should not have uniforms is natural disasters. How would a parent identify their child? Most parents know what their children wear to school for the day, and it is a very easy way to pick out your child.Or another is what if a student with superiority attacked a younger age student how would they be able to describe their attacker or pick them out of a group if they all look the same. â€Å"School is a place where the next actors, writers, artists, politicians, inventors, designers and musicians are trained. School uniforms send a clear early-life message to students that comfort is important and creativity is not, that authority is allowed to abuse its power and constrain our constitutional right of free speech and expression.Students learn from uniforms that their individuality, political opinions and religious rights are unimportant, as is their education; students are regularly suspended for non compliance to the uniform code even if their school work is excelle nt. If uniform-requiring schools were actually in ‘the business of learning’ this would not occur† says Tara Maginnis. They’re all wearing the same uniform. I fear that as adults people don’t have the same opportunity as teenagers and children to express these things.As adults we can wear uniforms and suits, but children are not paid executives they should have the experience of wearing what they want, and by making them wear school uniforms we are taking away that experience. Suits and other formal clothes. can be saved for adults, but not for children. My bill will help kids experience these things. Many parents and teachers believe that enforcing school uniforms would create equality among the students. By creating this equality parents and teachers believe that it will cut down on bullying and peer pressure to dress nice.But unfortunately students will find other ways to bully a peer. Its also important for childrens minds to pick out their own c lothes to wear. It has been proven that alowing children to pick out their own clothes creates a better thinker, and independence. No parent or teacher wants their child/stufdent to believe that making everything equal is the way things work in the world, and wearing uniforms everyday will make them believe this. This bill will not allow any school in America to have school uniforms. This will include both public and private schools.This bill will support kids throughout America to express their creativity, outgoing styles, and unique personalities. Making children wear uniforms is against freedom of expression. We are containing our children’s creative minds by making them wear uniforms. Clothing is a very big way for children to express themselves and their personalities. The way they define themselves is not only through their feelings and actions, but also through their clothing. A child’s mind is growing and we are restricting them as children. We are crippling th eir young creative minds by making them wear the same uniform day after day.Parents and teachers should not have the right to take away a child’s creative minds. That is what this bill is for. Goals for this bill would be†¦  · give kids freedom to pick their own clothes  · give them their freedom of expression  · find other ways to deal with teasing and etc  · save money for parents, and the government  · show people who want uniforms why this bill is important  · give children their creativity and another way to express it  · get rid of some clothing stereotypes  · give them the experience These goals are very possible if this bill is passed.I will try my hardest to make them all happen if my bill is passed. The affects of this bill will be a big turning point for all the schools and students, and parents, when they realize that having uniforms is a bad thing, and it’s much better without them. This bill will need a lot of cooperation from schoolà ¢â‚¬â„¢s staff all around America. It will need to be enforced by the government, but in every school we are going to need to cooperation from all principal. They have a giant impact on what the children and parents believe is right for the school. This will mainly need to be enforced by the government.We need them to make sure that every school in America is following the rules that are in the bill. The government is the only one that can do that. Part 2: Definitions Superiority: A higher ranking or a higher status person. Crippling: Disabling, impairing, weakening. Non Compliance: Dont agree, refuse. Part 3: Date effective This bill will be going into affect August twentieth. This way it’s not in the middle of the school year and parents haven’t already spent money on expensive uniforms that their child won’t even be wearing for more than half of a school year.Part 4: Costs & Benefits This bill is not a big money issue. In the end, we will be saving parents, t he government, and the schools money. First by taking away uniforms you would think that the parents would end up losing money, but that is not how I see it. Once the parents buy the uniforms for the children they don’t have to buy any other clothes for school for their children. No child is going to wear their school uniform outside of school. The parents will end up purchasing just as many clothes and spending more money than the parents who don’t have to buy uniforms.That would be for public schools but then on the other hand, public schools are funded by the government. This way the government would save money too, by not having to buy uniforms for all of the public schools. Also if the schools did not have to ask for uniforms from the school, they could ask for more supplies for the buildings, and help the needs of the school. But I am fearful that the schools with uniforms will disagree, and we will end up making a compromise so that this bill will get passed.

Developmental Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Developmental Disorders - Essay Example ired non verbal behavior and movements, diminished interest in playing and interaction with peers, lack of spontaneity and emotional reciprocity, delay or total lack in speech, repetitive use of language, behavior patterns or mannerisms and constant preoccupation with certain objects (Lord et al; Brereton and Tonge). Recent research has revealed that the cognitive ability of children with autism ranges from severely disabled to normal. They have low IQ scores and have difficulty in verbal sequencing. However, they have good immediate memory and visuo-spatial skills. The language, speech tone and modulation of these children are quite unusual and they sound mechanical and devoid of any emotions. They might use abnormal words, talk out of context or simply repeat them. They also have difficulty in understanding spoken language. Autistic children also suffer from social impairments such as disinterest in interpersonal relationships, lack of non-verbal communication with people and inability to play with other children. Doctors believe that these may change as the child grows. The genetics of autism has revealed that susceptibility to the disorder may be due to the presence of at least 3 abnormal genes. However, more research should be carried out to determine the genetic and environmental factors, if any, that may cause the disorder. Neurobiology Neurobiological evidence suggests that the brains of people with autism are underdeveloped with abnormalities observed in the brain-stem structures. Current research also points to the involvement of the cerebral cortex for onset of clinical symptoms (Hughes). The heterogeneity of the disorder has made it difficult to study the neural systems involved and hence a detailed study of the neurobiology of autism would require proper categorization of the people with the disorder in order to find out the various brain regions causing the various impairments (Lord et al). The key clinical features include narrowing of the

Confederate General Robert Lee Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Confederate General Robert Lee - Research Paper Example That was the case with Robert Lee. From the ancestors from the mother’s side he got a handsome appearance; from the father’s - physical strength and sense of duty and responsibility, which during the years of revolution General George Washington himself noted in Henry Lee. Even the financial problems of father positively affected his son: for his entire life, Robert Lee was extremely meticulous and careful in all the matters concerning money and business. Ann Carter Lee also instilled in the son the perception of the importance of the family values. Robert tenderly loved his mother. By the time he turned 12, his father died and his brothers had left home so he was the only son living with his mother. He had to become a head of a big house and took a great care of his mother and sisters, who were weak health wise. Robert Lee chose a military career because of the financial concerns. His older brother Charles Carter was studying in Harvard and the family did not have money for Robert to do likewise. So he took the only option available, which is of entering West Point Military Academy. During his cadet years, Lee did not receive a single penalty and served as the cadet corps’ adjutant. He was loved and respected by his schoolmates and graduated second in his class. Years later, in 1852, Lee returned to the West Point Academy as the superintendent. The best graduates were assigned to Engineer Corp; the same applied to Robert Lee. Among his first assignments in the practical military field was dam construction in Saint Louis and strengthening coast forts in Brunswick and Savannah. He carried out engineer projects in Georgia, Virginia and New York. On June 30, 1831, he married Mary Ann Randolph Custis, a distant relative. Mary was the only daughter of George Washington Park Custis, adopted grandson of George Washington. Robert Lee always honored the memory of George Washington and really admired his great services to his country.

Privacy as a consumer issue in electronic commerce Research Paper

Privacy as a consumer issue in electronic commerce - Research Paper Example The work that follows is a research on privacy as a consumer issue in electronic commerce. Consumer privacy is an important aspect that businesses need to consider to preserve and retain their customers. Electronic commerce largely relies on the use of World Wide Web since most of its transactions use technologies like telephones, e-mails, and social media devices like mobile phones, which need a lot of privacy.Businesses or organizations willing to conduct online transactions need to create an environment that ensures consumer security.Electronic commerce is facing customer shortages because many consumers opt not to make online purchases. This is probably because of risks involved in electronic commerce such as loss of jobs, blocking of careers, and losses resulting from unauthorized access and inappropriate use of personal information (Frost). However, various countries like the United States lack regulations governing disclosure of how they use information gathered from online co nsumers, information that gives them freedom to use customers’ personal information. ... de Commission (FTC), failure of electronic commerce to attain its potential, results from lack of proper regulations on consumer privacy.Privacy concerns have led to losses in sales, a situation that has left the determination on whether companies should regulate online privacy issues on their own, or whether there is a need for the government’s intervention to the commission. To counter worries from the public over websites’ handling of personal information, the U.S Congress, local communities and state legislatures havereceived introduction of a number of bills concerning protection of customers’ private information (Frost).However, the rapidly changing technology acts as an obstacle to drafting the regulations.Imposing tight requirements on the internet, according to some legislators would adversely affect electronic commerce growth, and possibly its effect be greater than the fears people have on the loss of privacy. In past days, businesses using the interne t like for example, banks and insurance companies enjoyed the confidence in their business with customers, but nowadays the privacy lies in question. This results from the technological advancement that currently exists in the world. Apart from baking and insurance institutions, communication companies keep wide information about their customers’ details. This information reveals much information like consumer’s location at the time they use the service, the content of e-mails or texts sent, the visited sites, and information downloaded, among others (Frost). Due to lack of proper consumer privacy laws, these institutions can access consumers’ personal information and use it for their benefit. Lack of consumer privacy, accompanied by technological advancement has led to access of personal

Film Thesis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Film Thesis paper - Essay Example In The Big Sleep, which is the first film version of the 1939 novel in the same title by Raymond Chandler, Humphrey Bogart stars as detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall plays the role of the female lead. Breathless (the French title bout de souffle literally means 'at breath's end'), which achieved international acclaim in the nouvelle vague along with other two movies, was highly recognized for its bold visual style and the innovative editing use of jump cuts. Howard Hawks' film is celebrated as an important Hollywood realist film which treats its subject, theme, and story in a realist manner, and it was highly appreciated by the U.S. Library of Congress, which preserved the film to the National Film Registry in 1997. Through its audacious visual style and the inventive editing use of jump cuts, Breathless is celebrated as a significant example of "anti-realist" film. A comparative analysis of these two essential films brings out significant facts about the various elements of the two genres. Therefore, this paper undertakes a reflective analysis of 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' film The Big Sleep (a Hollywood "realist" film) by Howard Hawks and the French New Wave film Breathless (an "anti-realist" film) by Jean Luc Godard, in order to compare and contrast the theme, narrative, tone, acting, and genre of the two movies. The Howard Hawks film The Big Sleep is one of the most powerful and complex noir movies in the history of the genre and represents the rotten sweetness of corruption through the narration and themes. As the realist version of a celebrated novel, the film depends greatly on the narrative and themes to reflect the story in an effective manner. To several critics, the director has even excelled the author of the novel to represent various significant details of the plot and the narrative of the film is a reflection of this success. "Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep is one of the truly great Hollywood pictures: the Raymond Chandler novel is brought to the screen with panache and authority, and the chemistry between Bogart and Bacall is unsurpassed. While the protagonist lovers are good guys and there is no femme-fatale, the movie has a strong noir aura. The darkly lit atmosphere and strong sexual tension shape our response to a grim and dissolute nether world where PI Philip Marlowe doggedly solves an enigma within a mystery in a plot so convoluted not even the film-makers fully understood it." (The Big Sleep (1946): Love's Vengeance Lost) In the narrative of the film, the director presents a number of murders throughout the film which complicate the audience in easily figuring out the full plot of the story. Significantly, a careful spectator of the film feels that he is left in a world of ambiguity and chaos, similar to the case-hardened private detective Philip Marlowe. Therefore, the realist version of the film through its narrative helps the director in reaching the audience more efficiently. The director has been able to bring about his recurring romantic configuration through the n

Population and Evironment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Population and Evironment - Essay Example Population growth and environmental deterioration are directly linked together. Increased population has exacerbating impact on the anthropometrical damage to the environment. As the population increase, it puts extra pressure on the natural resources. More forests are cut, more land is used, and more industries are setup that creates industrial pollution. The air, water and soils are heavily polluted. In order to cope with this emerging situation the richer nations shift their industrial setups to the poorer nations and are always bent upon destroying the natural resources base of the poorer regions for their own benefits. This imbalance further destroys the opportunities for the poor of the world. Therefore the immediate solution is to strike a balance between population growth, development and ecological preservation. For instance, in the case of Uganda population in 1948, was just 5 million but by 2002 the population had grown five-fold to 24.4 million. If current rates of growth persist, population will hit 51.9 million in 2025. This situation has been wrongly obtained by the ill-conceived ideology of the Ugandan President who thought that he would develop the country on like Chinese model. Instead Uganda sunk into deeper poverty. Solution lies in the simple, quite

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Criminology - Essay Example Discussion The key ideological disparity between positivist theorists and classical theorists is how the two categories differentiate how some individuals are increasingly more prone to crime than others. For instance, classical theorists believe that individuals engage in criminal acts entirely on their own will while positivist theorists assert that people commit crimes outside their free will (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 45). Classical school of thought that developed in the 17th century anchored on philosophy of utilitarianism. Cesare and Jeremy, as well as other classical thinkers, believed that human beings have free will to direct the choice of their actions, and the deterrence is anchored on the idea of a person as a hedonist being that seeks satisfactions and prevents discomfort, and a ‘reasonable calculator’ estimating the cost and advantages of each action’s results (Hagan 10). Therefore, the school of thought objects the chances of irrationality and involu ntary desires as triggering aspects. In addition, they believe that punishment (of adequate difficulty) can prevent human beings from criminal acts, as the loss (sentence) outweighs advantages, and the difficulty of penalty should be equal to the offense. Classical philosophers suggest that the more swift and precise the penalty (sentence) is, the more efficient it is in preventing crime attitudes. Cesare and other classical philosophers asserted that criminal attitudes or behavior could be reduced through human nature basics (O'Brien and Majid 47). According to classical theorists, criminal behavior is regulated by people’s self-interests. Theorists argued that rational human beings join a social contract where they recognize that maintaining a harmonious society would benefit them. Cesare and his colleagues sought to minimize criminal acts and behavior through reforms to the system of criminal punishment that they saw as hostile, unreasonably excessive and ineffective deter rent. The key purpose of sentencing was to deter criminal behavior among people. Classical theorist believed that the most crucial efficient deterrent from crime would be abrupt penalties instead of a long sentence of trials (Shteir 10). They considered criminal acts as irrational behaviors that resulted from individuals who could not behave from their free will or in society’s interests. They contended that penalties should be constantly imposed for certain criminal acts, with no unique circumstances, to show people that crime will cost them since there are fixed effects. Classical school proponents sought fair and equal justice for crime suspects. Prior to classical ideology, judges punished offenders at their own interests irrespective of the crime severity, an act that made some people perceive the system of a criminal sentence as tyrannical. Consequently, Cesare and his colleagues struggled for penalties for certain offenses to be controlled by legislative arm and forbid unleashing power. They believed that if legal officers could use legislatively authorized penalties, trials would be swift and there would be fair justice because offenders would receive faster and fair punishment (O'Brien and Majid 50). The classical theorist thought that combating crime is increasingly crucial than punishment, but by setting clear system of punishment offenders would utilize their reasoning to realize that criminals behavior is against their self-interests. Similarly,

Human Resource Specialist and the Human Resource Generalist Research Paper

Human Resource Specialist and the Human Resource Generalist - Research Paper Example Furthermore, two articles will be leveraged as a means of analyzing both career past and determining whether or not one particular career path might be viewed as superior to another. It is the further hope of this particular author that such a level of discussion will provide the reader with a more informed and actionable understanding concerning the differentials between these two career paths and means by which human resources professionals seek to leverage change can promote organizational integrity within whatever firm/business/organization they are employed future. The first article that was analyzed, entitled, â€Å"The Activity Of Human Resources Specialists† denotes that the HR specialist is the individual that is generally employed in medium to large enterprises and focuses upon specific details of the employee-employer relationship. As such, the article points to the fact that the specialist is not as involved in the â€Å"big picture† as compared to the generalist; a concern that they authors note as sufficient to encourage many individuals that might be easily bored by the tedium of a daily focus upon small details should avoid (Magdoiu et al. 129). However, for those that appreciate the benefits of working at a larger enterprise and specifically addressing the details of the employer-employee relationship on a daily basis, the career path offers a litany of benefits. Additionally, those the article notes that those individuals that focus their career as an HR specialist tend to have job opportunities over time; as HR spec ialists tend to be in higher demand as compared to HR generalists.   

The Vinland Voyages Essay Example for Free

The Vinland Voyages Essay The Vikings history refers to sagas, which are the old stories written in the Norwegian language that read more like fairy tales than history books. The Vikings these sagas refer to are larger than life, more caricature or super hero than historical figure. This has left many people wondering if Vikings were real or if the stories are just fictional tales written by authors with wonderful imaginations. Twentieth century historians began to recognize that this saga’s held valuable information about the history of the past and were more than simple stories (Brooks 1986). Americans celebrates Columbus Day and it is well accepted but the general population, that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. However, historical and archeological research shows clearly that there were explorers in America long before Columbus. Scholars agree, that the Vikings were the first Europeans to arrive in North America, and did so centuries before Christopher Columbus (Jones 2001). Half a century before Christopher Columbus is said to have discovered America, Viking sea captain and explorer, Leif Erickson and his crew, landed is what is thought to be Newfoundland, Canada. Eriksson called the new land Vinland (Nichol 2003). While there is some debate as to the meaning of the name, a quote form a saga indicates that the name is related to the native grapes. † So is said, that their aft-boat was filled with grapes. Now was hewn a lading for the ship. And when spring came, they made ready and sailed away; and gave Leif name to the land after the lands products and called it Wineland† (The Flatey Book, Translation of the Saga of Eric the Rd). The first written documentation of Vinland was found in a work by historian Adam of Bremen and was written in the year 1075 (Bolls 1986). Another major source of information regarding Vinland comes from two well known sagas; the Saga of Eric the Red and from the Saga of the Greenlanders. These works were not written until the 13th century, hundreds of years after the actual events so there is some question of their reliability or accuracy (Jones 2001). However, they are the main written documentation for this period and historians have relied on the saga’s to paint the picture of the Viking voyage to North America and discovery of Vinland (Jones 2001). Though the Vikings did not make Vinland a permanent home, the Viking influence is clearly documented in North America (Brooks 1986). There has been substantial research into the Viking history and contribution to North America and it is surprising to learn of the discoveries by archeologists now, more than 1000 years later (Jones 2001). Moving from their Scandinavian roots of Norway, Denmark and Sweden was no small feat. The Vikings plodded along that journey to North America over the course of about 200 years (Jones 2001). History of the Vikings Vikings developed into a clearly defined faction of people in approximately the year 780. Vikings can be traced to their roots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, though it is primarily the Norwegian faction that made the choice to travel west. Their language had Germanic roots. The Viking Age is considered to be the period from approximately 800 – 1050 AD (Fitzhigh 2000)The time period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman Conquest of England d in 1066 is commonly called the Viking Age (Jones 2001). During the Viking Age, Scandinavia expansion was at its height. Historians point to a variety of reasons that he Vikings might have moved from their Scandinavian countries. The expansion in ship construction and the ability to go to sea opened up explorations opportunities. At that time, they were able to go beyond the boundaries of their small countries. With the abilities to build large ships that could hold large numbers of people and plenty of goods to trade with other colonies, came a desire to explore the larger world. The Vikings developed an expertise, now legendary, for navigating the seas (Fitzhugh). The first Vikings ships are dated back to the years between 800-900 AD in Norway and appeared to be much more advanced that those made throughout the rest of Europe. Originally, the ships were powered by rows but later, sails were developed. The Vikings were the first group to utilize sail to power their vessels (Fitzhugh). Vikings developed excellent navigational skills. They relied on the sun, moon and the stars and learned how to note wave patterns in the sea as well as the particular fish or birds in the areas to help find their way across the seas. . Vikings also honed skills as traders and entrepreneurs (Fitzhugh). Vikings lived in Scandinavia for longer than one thousand years. With the increase in population the people had a natural desire to explore and began to develop the skills and means to do so. The Vikings were a vibrant community with a strong culture of myths, and the gods in which they believed. The Viking belief in gods was similar to that of Greeks mythology. The stories of the gods had them appear quite humanlike. Viking culture consisted of the nobles, and the freeman in addition to slaves. The nobles became the leader and kings. The freeman were the tradesman, farmers and craftsmen. They were landowners. The slaves were the people the Vikings captured on their explorations to other areas and then brought home with them. Historically, Viking lived in long wooden structures called longhouses. They often added on to these structures and one longhouse could include several generations of family. Women in the Viking era were free to choose their own husbands and could leave their husbands if they choose to. The women were respected for their ability to care for farms and homes. During this time of seafaring exploration and cultural expansion is when the Vikings earned the reputation of raiders and pirates. They were reported to frequent the unlocked churches that they came across along the costal towns of French, Germany and England and steel from them. Vikings as Seafarers Much of what is now known about Viking ship building was learned as a result of the discovery of ancient burial groups in Norway. This find included ships that were well enough preserved to provide insight to the Viking technology. Additional discoveries have since been made that provide even more detail. As the ships were made of wood, archaeologist are able to use tree rings to date the ships. The Viking ships were manufactured with iron, which allowed the ships to withstand the salt water of the sea and made long ravel possible. The iron was what made the difference from previous boats, to Viking ships. The Vikings were able to build large ships that could haul large numbers of people and livestock as well as other goods to trade. It took the people of the region to new areas where they could explore and trade goods. The men of this region learned ship building as a matter of course, as women learned weaving. With the availability of wood and iron and the skills to build, larger number of people had access to ship building and trade. The Vikings that traveled west were primarily Norwegian and began with settlements in Britain. These Vikings came with farming skills as well as goods to trade. The goods they brought included fur, wool and ivory. The Vikings then landed in Iceland in approximately 870 and they grew in population to over 30,000 in that area during the first 50 years. The Norwegian exploration resulted in an ongoing relationship of trade and communication as emigration between Norway, Britain and Iceland. The exploration to Greenland began around the year 982. The story of the Vikings in Vineland begins with the ongoing desire of the Vikings for more land and the banishment of Eric Thorvaldson or Eric the Red from Norway. Thorvald and his son Eric the Red were forced to leave Norway due to involvement in apparent murders They found themselves in Iceland and Eric the Red married a woman named Thjohild . Eric and Thjohild had a son, the very well known historical figure, Leif Eriksson. Eventually Eric was expelled from Iceland as a result of more violence and in 982 headed west, settling his family in Greenland (Fitzhugh). The Vikings at that time, had control over areas in England, Ireland, Scotland and France before moving on to Iceland and Greenland. Old Viking stories claim that Eric enticed people to Greenland with the name, which implied warmer weather and a positive place to settle. He was able to recruit more than 450 people for the original settlement. According to records of the climate at that time, this was a warmer period for Greenland and the colonies that developed were successful raising livestock, trading walrus tusks as well as farming (Fitzhugh 2000). Another Viking captain, Bjarni Herjolfsson was lost at sea when on a trip to visit his father in Greenland and it is thought that he may have landed in North America for a time. He eventually did find his way to Greenland and told everyone about the land he had discovered while he was off course Leif Eriksson was curious and decided that he would plan an expedition to the new land and was able to recruit a group of men to come with him. When Leif Erikson and his crew found the new land, he named it Vineland, because the land was covered in vines. He enjoyed Vineland and stayed there for a several months. Leif along with his sister Freydis and brother Thorvals, are thought to be perhaps the first Europeans in North America in approximately 1000 A. D. The Vineland Leif Erickson visited, was already establish as a colony by another group. The Vikings called them barbarians. The Vikings left as they were so clearly outnumbered and not prepared to battle The Vikings of the time continued to visit Vinland for goods and resources that were not as plentiful in Greenland. Eric the Red ruled Greenland until his death in 1003, at which time his son Leif Ericsson took over the leadership of Greenland. In approximately 1020 A. D. , Leifs son. Thorgills Leifsson took over as the ruler of Greenland. Leif Erickson, or â€Å"Leif the Lucky â€Å"as he later became know as a result of his successful voyages, is responsible for bringing Christian missionaries to Greenland. While the stories we hear of Vikings lead one to believe that they were violent and aggressive warriors, there is also a history of assimilating with the new lands and of embracing new cultures and ideas. Leif Ericsson Leif Ericsson is the central figure n all stories and histories regarding the Vikings and North America. He was the oldest of four children. Leif was probably thirty years old when he took his crew on the trip west in the year 1001 and found Vinland. Historians today believe that Ericsson probably landed first on Baffin Islands, Markland and Labrador before settling in Vinland for a period of several years. The settlement they established became known as Leifrsbudir. The term Leifsbudir likely refers to Leif’s booths. Leif accepted Christianity during a year long trip to Norway on an earlier voyage where he went to visit the King Olav with the goal of improving his power and reputation. When he returned back to Greenland his father refused Christianity though his mother converted quickly. She was responsible for the building of the first Christian church in Greenland. The exploration led by Leif Ericsson to North America is documented primarily in the Vinland Saga, which include the Saga of Greenland and he Saga of Eric the Red. These stories were written in the 13th centaury as the result of history passed down through the years. In the twentieth century, when the stories were linked with ht e actual archeological discoveries in Newfoundland, Viking history began to take shape and gain acceptance as actual history and not just tales. Leif Ericsson’s interest in exploring further west began with the stories he heard earlier from Bjarni Herjolfsson, who told Leif of the land he saw while going off course during his travel to Greenland. Leif Ericsson purchased the boat from Herjollllfsson and with a crew of 35, set sail to find he land he had heard about (Vesilind 2000). They found the new land to be an easier lifestyle, with easier winters and plentiful timber, lakes to fish and good land to farm. The land he named Vinland was referred to as Vinland the Good. Leif Ericssons brother Thorvald returned to Vinland in 1003 ands was killed during a fight with the native people. Leif’s other brother sailed to Vinland in 1005, but dies in a storms while at sea. His sister, Freydis later went to Vinland with plans to set up a trade arrangement. She was less than honest with her partners and then had them murdered. She returned to Greenland and went unpunished, as her brother Leif was the leader of Greenland at the time (Vesilind 2000). Location The exact location of Vineland has not been established by archaeologists. The Viking stories talked about long days of mild weather and wild grapes. Artifacts from the Vikings have been found in a number of locations including Cape Cod and in Virginia. Newfoundland, in Canada has established the remnants of a Viking community but, Newfoundland does not have the abundance of grapes growing wild. Some historian believe that Vineland was not actually named for grapes, but that â€Å"vin† had a different meaning to the Vikings, possibly referring to grazing lands (Jones 2001). It has also been suggested that what the stories refer to, were not grapes, but possibly berries. However, research on the climate at that time show that though there are not wild grapes growing in New Foundland today, the climate up until the 17th century would have sustained wild grapes, and in fact did (Vesilind 2000). In the search by historians to determine where exactly the land known as Vineland was located, there was some skepticism that Vikings could have crossed the Atlantic Ocean in those days, with their ship technology. It is estimated that the voyage between Greenland and Vineland would have taken up to two weeks. However, findings of he historic ships in Norway give credibility to the idea that the Viking ships could withstand the journey (Vesilind 2000). In the 1950’s, an historian named Munn provided an argument stating that the areas of L’Anse-aux-Meadows in Newfoundland is the actual site of the Vikings Vinland. Fifty years later, archeological digs would confirm his theory with evidence in the way of Viking artifacts that confirm a settlement in that area. Helge Ingstadd was a Norwegian researcher who had dedicated much of his career to Viking explorations (Jones 2001). He completed the most thorough review of the Vinland Voyages available and was meticulous in his research. Before coming to Newfoundland, he researched areas of Rhode Island, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia. When he determined that Newfoundland held the best possibility of being the actual Viking landing spot, he brought in an exploration party. Ingstadd noted some faint lines on the contours of land in that area that made curious about what might lie below (Fitzhugh 2000). Ingstad found the wall of a longhouse and other remnants during that first dig and then returned again a couple of years later to uncover more evidence. Helge Ingstad found the remnants of a Viking settlement in Newfoundland. He discovered proof that what stood on the ground around the year 1000 AD were sod longhouses. The houses did not have foundations, which led Ingstad to the conclusion hat they were meant as temporary structures rather than permanent housing. One of the houses contained evidence of an iron smith setup. Ingstad’s discovery also included evidence that women had accompanied the Viking men on the voyages to Vinland as there were weaving tools used by women in that day. There have been additional discoveries since the time of Helge Ingstad’s discovery that further support the Viking contact with North America long before Christopher Columbus.

Global recession and emerging challenges for human resources management in india

Global recession and emerging challenges for human resources management in india INTRODUCTION Meaning of Global Recession A recession is a decline in a countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for two or more consecutive quarters of a year. A recession is also preceded by several quarters of slowing down. An economy, which grows over of period of time, tends to slow down the growth as a part of the normal economic cycle. An economy typically expands for 6-10 years and tends to go into a recession for about six months to 2 years. A recession normally takes place when consumers lose confidence in the growth of the economy and spend less. These leads to a decreased demand for goods and services, which in turn leads to a decrease in production, lay-offs and a sharp rise in unemployment. Investors spend less; as they fear stocks values will fall and thus stock markets fall on negative sentiment. Risk aversion, deleveraging and frozen money markets and reduced investor interest adversely affect t capital and financial flows, import export and overall GDP of an economy. This is what exactly what happened in US and as a result of contagion effect spread all over the world due to high integration in the global economy. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)s latest Global Financial Stability report (GFSR) widening and deepening fallout from the US subprime mortgage crisis have profound financial system and macro-economic implications. While the US remains at the ‘epicenter, the backwash effect of the American financial institution in other countries ‘reflecting the same overly benign global financial conditions, an inattention to appropriate risk management systems and lapses in prudential supervision. The global slowdown has its implications on the domestic economy. During the last three years Indian Economy grew at an average annual rate of 8.6 per cent. For the first time the economy has shown signs of deceleration and grew at 7.8 per cent in the first half year of 2008-09 (April-September). The service sector, which contributes more than 50% share in the GDP and is the prime growth engine, reported to be slowing down, mainly in the transport, communication, trade, and hotels restaurants sub-sectors. The industrial growth has decelerated sharply during April-November, 2008 encompassing all the constituent sectors. In manufacturing sector, the growth has come down to 4.0 per cent in April-November, 2008 as compared to 9.8 percent in the corresponding period of last year. The slowdown occurred in the all the use-based categories, except consumer goods where it has accelerated. Meaning of HRM Humans are an organizations greatest assets; without them, everyday business functions such as managing cash flow, making business transactions, communicating through all forms of media, and dealing with customers could not be completed. Humans and the potential they possess drive an organization. Todays organizations are continuously changing. Organizational change impacts not only the business but also its employees. In order to maximize organizational effectiveness, human potential—individuals capabilities, time, and talents—must be managed. Human resource management works to ensure that employees are able to meet the organizations goals. Human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in organizations. It is responsible for bringing people into the organization, helping them perform their work, compensating them for their labors, and solving problems that arise. There are seven management functions of a human resources (HR) department that will be specifically addressed: staffing, performance appraisals, compensation and benefits, training and development, employee and labor relations, safety and health, and human resource research. Global Recession and HRM The financial downturn is impacting developed as well as developing economies are likely to get worse as the European countries, the US and others go into a deeper depression due to the increase in job losses which often follows recession. The slump in the market and increased job losses will have some important implications for the changing task of human resource professionals. As the unemployment continues to increase, HR professionals are likely to be dealing with more stressed employees who are the sole wage earners in their families. As recession is becoming the part of the normal cycle of business. Therefore it makes just as much sense to plan for recession or downturns as it does to plan for good, economic times. OBJECTIVE This economic downfall has affected all the major sectors in India including IT, aviation, banking, real estate, tourism, outsourcing, telecommunication, etc with its consequence mainly on the HR policies of these industries. This article discusses Impact of economic slowdown on employment in India. The emerging challenges of human resource management in the global recession situation. The strategy adopted by HR personnel to deal with these challenges. HYPOTHESIS In todays economic meltdown where job cuts, loss, pay reduction, last come first go, insecurity of employment atmosphere prevail, HR has special responsibility to create ease environment to the affected by counseling, displaying care and concern, preparing them for multi skill task, engaging and deploying in other required areas of functions like security, crisis management team, etc. Global recession has raised various emerging challenges for Human Resources Managers HR needs to be proactive innovative and try to come up with early interventions as for any organization to survive during recession. REVIEW OF LITERATURE â€Å"The global economic crisis is expected to lead to painful cuts in the wages of millions of workers worldwide in the coming year. It predicts that the slow or negative economic growth, combined with highly volatile food and energy prices, will erode the real wages of the worlds 1.5 billion wage-earners, particularly low-wage and poorer households. Between the years 1995 and 2007, for each one per cent decline in GDP per 2 capita, average wages fell even further by 1.55 percentage point, a result that points to the possible effects on wages in the current crisis. [International Labour Office (ILO), 2007-08]. ‘The economic slowdown of the advanced countries which started around mid-2007, as a result of sub-prime crisis in USA, led to the spread of economic crisis across the globe. Many hegemonic financial institutions like Lehman Brothers or Washington Mutual or General Motors collapsed and several became bankrupt in this crisis. According to the current available assessment of the IMF, the global economy is projected to contract by 1.4 per cent in 2009.Even as recently as six months ago, there was a view that the fallout of the crisis will remain confined only to the financial sector of advanced economies and at the most there would be a shallow effect on emerging economies like India. These expectations, as it now turns out, have been belied. The contagion has traversed from the financial to the real sector; and it now looks like the recession will be deeper and the recovery longer than earlier anticipated. Many economists are now predicting that this ‘Great Recessionof 2008 -09 will be the worst global recession since the 1930s.[Choudhari 2008] â€Å"The financial downturn that is impacting developed economies are likely to get worse as the European countries, the US and others go into a deeper depression due to the increase in Job losses which often follows recession. The slump in the market and increased job losses will have some important implications for the changing tasks of human resource professionals. As the unemployment continues to increase, HR professionals are likely to be dealing with more stressed employees who are the sole wage earners in their families†. [Mujtaba, 2008} â€Å"The global economic crisis has brought to the forefront of organizations the concepts of viability and survival which at these times can be desperate pursuit. There are three main reactions in organizations, namely the corporate reactions in organizations, namely the corporate reaction to remain viable, the employee reaction to survive the turbulence, and the human resources reaction ( including recruiting and hiring talent, corporate organization, training and institutional learning)†. [Kathleen Patterson Gray Oster, 2008] â€Å"In emerging economies, growth is projected to slow down appreciably but still may reach 5.0 percent in the year 2009. The overall recruitments are lower for the industry this time as companies remain cautious amidst the global financial crisis.† [Srivastav, 2009] â€Å"Growth in real wages has slowed down globally in 2008 because of the economic crisis and the trend is expected to continue in 2009, despite signs of economic recovery. Growth in average wages reduced from 4.3 % in 2007 to 1.4% in 2008. Real wages in the first quarter of 2009 also fell in more than half of 35 countries, compared to the annual average of 2008, â€Å"Wage deflation deprives national economies of much needed demand and seriously affects confidence,† â€Å"Minimum wages are an important policy tool for social protection and proposes that minimum wages be combined with other income support measures and/or tax reductions†. [ILO,2009] The last time anyone faced a situation like this was in the 1930s, so if there is anyone who is 98 (assuming they should have been at least 20 then) and is coherent†¦ the rest of us are figuring out and learning on the fly, reasons Elango R, chief human resources officer, Mphasis. According to Elango, Managing the unknown, visualizing into the uncertain future, constantly calibrating and tuning the variables†¦ and hoping to high heaven that you are on the right path†¦ are responsible for increasing stress levels. He believes that the challenge is to take long term decisions without issuing the short term. This requires skills, knowledge and thinking that are not called on in a growth environment. In a growth environment, ones pre-occupations are different, and having seen growth for years most of us are skilled at this. The current business environment entails a delicate tightrope walk balancing both the business interests and employee interests. [Elango R, 2008] RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Secondary Data collected from various sources like * Economic Political weekly * HRM Journals * ILO Reports * Ministry of Labour Employment Labour Bureau ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION I. Impact of economic slowdown on employment in India. Ø Ripples of recession leading to reduction in exports to developed countries are being felt by all the developing countries. Credit availability and its cost have become major areas of concern. The combined impact of all these factors would be loss of employment and reduction of income leading to social distress. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) placed the estimated world output growth at 3.75 per cent in the year 2008 and 2.2 percent in the year 2009 in World Economic Outlook (WEO), November 2008, which represented a significant slide from a level of about 5.0 per cent in the year 2007. Ø The global situation deteriorated rapidly after mid September, 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the top five investment banks in the US, the collapse of American International Group (AIG) Bank and also of the mortgage lenders Freddie Mae and Fannie Mae. There has been a massive choking of credit since then and a global crash in the stock markets. Ø The deepening of the global crisis and subsequent deleveraging and risk aversion in the global markets affected the Indian equity and the foreign exchange markets. While the Indian economy has a sufficient internal ballast to withstand the impact of global recession because of overall strength of domestic demand and the predominantly domestic nature of financing of investment and exposure of exports to less than 20% of GDP, nevertheless some slowdown is inevitable. It may be observed from Table 1 that the total estimated employment in all the sectors covered by the survey went down from 16.2 million during September, 2008 to 15.7 million during December, 2008 resulting in job loss of about half a million. It is seen that the employment declined every month during this period. It has also been observed that the employment in all the sectors/industries studied went up significantly over the period from March, 08 to September, 2008. Beyond September, 2008, it has however, decelerated at all industries/sectors level at an average rate of 1.01 per cent per month. Table 1 Trends in Average Employment Period Average Employment in Percentage (millions)change September, 08 16.2 October,08 16.0 -1.21 November,08 15.9 -0.74 December,08 15.7 -1.12 Average Monthly change -1.01 Source : Government of India, Ministry of Labour Employment Labour Bureau, Chandigarh. From the above data it is observed that the management people and employees may experience anxiety around a number of issues during an economic crisis or downturn. The monthly average rate of employment loss during Oct- Dec, 2008 was 1.01 per cent whereas in January, 2009 the rate of decline has increased to 1.17 per cent. The increase in rate of change is mainly due to the decline in employment in IT/BPO sector in January, 2009 in contrast to the increase in employment during Oct-Dec, 2008 and also higher rate of unemployment in Automobile Sector. The month wise employment trends are presented in Table 1.2. Table 1.2 Trends in Average Employment Sl. No. Period % Rate of Decline 1 October, 2008 1.21 2 November, 2008 0.74 3 December, 2008 1.12 5 January, 2009 1.17 Source : Government of India, Ministry of Labour Employment Labour Bureau Chandigarh The economic slowdown is expected to adversely impact the quality of employment besides the quantity reflected by decline in employment. The quality aspect is measured in terms of decrease in average wages received by the employees. Hence information is also collected on the total 12 earnings of workers. The results of the survey reveal that the average monthly wages have also declined by 0.26 per cent in January 2009. The average monthly decline during Oct-Dec, 2008 was 3.45 per cent. During the current survey the average monthly wages for direct and contract workers are also collected. The findings of the survey reveal that average monthly decline in the wages are 0.25 per cent for direct category of workers and 0.63 per cent for contract workers in January, 2009. The information is presented in Table 1.3. Table 1.3 Percentage change in Average Monthly Earnings SR.No. Period Percentage Change 1 October, 2008 1.74 2 November, 2008 -11.43 3 December, 2008 -0.5 4 January, 2009 -0.26 Source : Government of India, Ministry of Labour Employment Labour Bureau Chandigarh Table 1.4 Month Wise Estimated Job Loss Sl.No. PeriodEstimated Job Cumulative Job LossLoss 1 October, 2008 1,96,092 1,96,092 2 November, 2008 1,17,550 3,13,642 3 December, 2008 1,77,222 4,90,864 4 January, 2009 98,156 5,89,020 Source : Government of India, Ministry of Labour Employment Labour Bureau Chandigarh It needs to be noted that the rate of decline in employment in January, 2009 is higher than average monthly rate of the previous quarter, whereas the total loss of employment estimated is less than the previous monthly estimates. In this recession period HR play an important role to make the industry sustain and the entire economy flourish. This paper expresses the challenges of human resource management in the global recession situation. The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. The most important challenge in recession period that is revolutionizing the Human Resource systems to identify, maintains, develop and utilize talents across the organization to their fullest capacities. The management of Human Resources has now assumed strategic importance in the achievement of organizational growth and excellence. As globalization advances and we move into the information age, organizations need to adapt to the changes in technology and the changing issues in management of people. II. The emerging challenges of Human Resource Management in the times global recession†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources. With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organizations big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of todays HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organizations members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity. These paper discusses few important challenges of HRM due to recession and i.e†¦ Problem of Recruitment. Managing downsizing program appropriately. Talent management. Stress Management. The Return on Recognition in a Recession. 1. Recruitment and Recession. Recruitment industry is going through a tough time at this moment, the numbers have dropped drastically for the biggies and even recruitment agencies are battling for survival. Synergy Solutions provides recruitment services to companies in India and in US, the biggest challenge today is to find newer and better ways to add value to the clients. There is a need to find innovative ways to improve recruitment ROI for the client. First things first, the base idea is not to wait and find ways to weather the storm but to take proactive measures to tide the wave. The world is changing very quickly to combat recession and its about time we translate our thinking into action or else we will be late. The main reason being the companies who are hiring have recently made drastic cuts in their recruiting budget and are in the process of streamlining their side of the story. Companies (clients) has to demand greater accountability from recruitment agencies and focus on improving their recruitment ROI. Recruitment agencies / staffing companies who are agile in their operation and can quickly adapt to the changing environment will emerge victorious at the end of this recessionary period. Few areas where placement agencies should focus: * Closely monitoring the way each industry is changing in current times and the way companies within the industries are changing their hiring strategy. * Build stronger relationship with clients thereby working closely with your contact points in the company to get clarity on their internal hiring plans and prepare accordingly. This will also help protect your share in the pie from your competitors. * Clients will use this recession to re-negotiating the recruitment contracts with recruitment agencies. Since numbers are falling every day recruitment agencies will be concerned about their cash flow situation and as a result will have no option but to be forced to negotiate their existing contract. New client would want to start the relation on the terms advantageous to them, that means lower rates and tougher terms. * Look out for companies who are brave and would consider recession as the right time to recruit good quality talent at the right price. These are usually multinationals with deep pockets and would want to drive competitive advantage home. Be smart to attack these companies. * Train your recruiters to be tactically smart and agile in their actions. During the boom there were a lot of open positions and even more candidates available so the match making activity was comparatively easy and largely govern by the good sentiments in the market. During tougher times recruiters need to be smart and get themselves deeper into the fit gap process and ensure win win situation for the client and the candidate * Use of technology and social media applications to hunt better profiles as compared to job boards. Sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social and business networking sites are fast becoming every recruiters trump card. Lot of head hunting can happen over these networking sites. * If your salary component are on the higher side and you foresee that its going to be difficult to sustain then take adequate action now try and offer a mix of lower fixed and higher variable with an assurance that salaries will get back to normal once the market stabilizes. 2. Managing downsizing appropriately. Virtually every country has to face the impact of a global economic downturn which can be in the form of recession, slowdown, depression or growth recession. When a downturn occurs, the organizations have to suffer heavy losses and bear the brunt of slow revenue generation. During this period, there is also less spending by the consumers, less investment by the investors and more of savings. Even the sectors who have been thriving in the boom period try to save more. Numerous causes can be attributed to the economic downturn and one of which affects the business is lack of skilled manpower. Other reasons could be the increasing population, lack of food supply, climatic condition, and entry of substitutes, inapt investments and technological changes. The shift in supply and demand hugely affects the entire business cycle. There can be acute shortage of cash supply leading to less or poor investments. All of this may ultimately affect the morale of the employees which should be a concern to every organization. Also, the decline in growth and decrease in profits certainly calls for certain top-of-the-line strategies to make adjustments to serve organizational needs. Managing the teams or human capital at this juncture is a Herculean task. So, a manager should devise certain strategies in order to manage teams during down turns. Downsizing during this period is certainly not a good option because if there are merits of laying off of employees, there are many demerits too. What should a manager do to manage teams or workforce? * Hold special meetings: During this unsafe situation, the organizations top most head or CEO should brief the meeting where the main subject should be the employees and their concern. If the head of any organization feels confidant, the whole organization feels confidant. Alternatively, middle-level managers and senior managers can conduct private meetings where they can console their subordinates. Also, give your workforce to ask questions and express their feelings regarding the business insecurity. * Motivate the employees: The key to managing and retaining the employees during downturn is motivation. Apart from the special meetings being conducted, a manager should regularly be attending to their problems and constantly trigger the employees to have good mood. * Offering challenging assignments and opportunities: If you offer your teams the challenging assignments, they spirits will be lifted and they will manage to survive even in bad times. * Explain to them the importance of their existence in jobs: There is no use crying over the spoilt milk, just like economy turning to a bad shape and business showing downfall. Its better that you discuss about the new projects and subsequently tell them what role they have to play. How their productivity can make the organization grow, explain to them. * Initiate change by identifying key people: There are few employees who are influencers and can bring about a lot of change in the organization. If these employees are given the right message to convince other team workers, the organization can move in the right direction. * Identify the achievers and reward them: Even during this period, you should give your employees the bonuses and increments if possible. In this way, they will always remain motivated and perform. All the above points are crucial to letting the organization grow to greater heights and following the above strategies will promote the general health of the organization despite economic downturns. 3. Talent Scenario during Recession The law of demand and supply mercilessly applies to human resources, also. During the economic downturn, companies were able to downsize by getting rid of redundant work force and dead wood. They also restructured the employee compensation (mostly by decreasing) to stave off financial losses. Only those employees were retained who proved their worth. The employees had to accept all kinds of compensation-related compromises while maintaining the same or even higher level of efficiency and productivity. They could thus survive the financial tsunami. These survivors got the opportunity to handle a variety of tasks that further sharpened their skills and made them multi-skilled. Thus, overall quality of talent has increased. At the same time, those who were out of job lost this opportunity to hone their skills in a new challenging environment. Adding to our woes, slashing of training and development budgets has led to a depletion of the number of skilled employees within the companies. Such steps from companies have created an altogether tricky scenario: The quality of talent within the companies has increased (raising the bar of the talent), while the quality of skills available in job market has dwindled. Now, recruiters can hire the required quality talent not from outside but from inside their competitors workplace. While many have forgotten the term â€Å"War for Talent†, the phenomenon is slowly re-emerging. â€Å"A study by Accenture has found that more than two-thirds of executives are now deeply concerned about not being able to recruit and retain the best talent. In todays global and highly competitive economy, the war for talent is now global, not local. The survey of more than 850 top executives from the U.S, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Japan and China found worries about talent management were growing, with 67 per cent this year putting it second only behind competition as the key threat, up from 60 per cent last year.† It may be worth noting that great companies such as Infosys, responded to the downturn by investing more in training. Instead of fearing of financial losses, these corporate focused on improving the quality of their employees skills. And the effect is visible in their financial results. Member of Infosys board of directors and head of HRD and Education and Research, T V Mohandas Pai said, â€Å"In response to the economic crisis, we had stepped up our investment in training. This has made us more competitive in fulfilling clients needs today.†The demand for talent in the market will never cease. Retention will always be a challenge. New Definition of Talent While war for talent continues, the bar for talent also goes up. Old skills and competencies may not work. Companies now need salesman who does not sell products but does sell solutions; production managers no longer control the operations, they are expected to innovate and improve productivity; and quality managers need to study competitive products with more zeal and help develop better products and services. The employers expectations have changed and are set to grow: Highly Productive: The talented employees need to be highly productive. They should deliver much more than they are compensated for. If that happens, employers are willing to give larger share to them. Multi-Skilled: Companies have discovered that one way to decrease recruitment cost is to have multi-skilled employees. Multi-skilled employees help reduce manpower dependence, and the overall sum of all the multi-skilled employees is greater than the same number of equal number of specialist. Self-Managed and Self-Motivated: Self-managed and self-motivated employees reduce managerial efforts. This helps organizations to have less number of managers. Innovative and Out-of-the-Box thinkers: As the rules of the business change and competition increases, the existing solutions no longer work. Companies need employees who constantly infuse new ideas and provide out-of-the-box solutions to meet a customer need that seems to have no end. The Key to Retain Talent Lies in HR Policies and Practices As organizations increase their expectations from employees, employers too have to significantly change the way they manage the talent. Talented employees continuously need new challenges and goals they can achieve, and a continuous supply of information and resources they can use to solve business problems. And needless to say, they will in return demand more lucrative and effective compensations, a great work culture and friendly HR policies. â€Å"Even during the recession, companies are reviewing and revising their leadership development programs. Survey after survey indicates that people who quit their jobs do so because of their relationship with the boss, not because of dissatisfaction with their job. A recession is a perfect time to take a hard look at leadership style and training to increase employee satisfaction with management.† Five Important Talent Retention Factors Lets us consider five factors that can help organizations retain talent to meet the client and business requirements in post-recession era: Clear Goals, Targets and Expectations: You need to tell them what exactly you expect from employees and what should they do to meet these expectations. A talented mind without a direction is most likely to pull the plug than a mediocre or a dead wood. Balanced Work Environment: Talented employees have huge positive energy and they exhaust this energy to meet the deadlines. But often they need time to re-energize themselves. Organizations that want to retain talented employees need to provide a positive environment that allows them to re-energize themselves more often. Track Performance Goals and Provide Analysis: Innovators and hard workers

William Shakespeares Authenticity Essay -- Shakespeare Playwright bio

William Shakespeare's Authenticity Over the past several centuries, many scholars have been debating the authenticity of Shakespeare and his works. Many books have even been published questioning if the legendary playwright from Stratford is the author of his many plays and poems. This theory still remains as a possibility today and much of the evidence stems from Shakespeare’s great literary achievements, his humble beginnings, his inadequate education and the missing chapters in his life. Throughout his writings, there is evidence of similarities between the language and literature of the time period with subjects such as law, history, politics and geography as well as manners and knowledge of the courts which would not have been known by a common citizen or the son of a tradesman. The range of knowledge which he displays would only be expected of a man of extensive education during the time period that was familiar with the royal figures that are depicted in his works. The insufficient records have added even more mystery as none of the original manuscripts have survived and were possibly destroyed to conceal the identity of the actual author. Although Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest playwright of all time, much speculation surrounds his authenticity through theories based on linguistic and historical problems as well as criticism. Since the four centuries that have passed since Shakespeare’s times, several theories have been developed which claim that others may be the legitimate authors of his works. The playwrights usually focused on are Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, William Stanley, Roger Manners and Christopher Marlowe. Other theories support the fact that perhaps sev... ...e’s works which allow for authentic spectacle and realism with all of the available modern theatre techniques at their disposal. These presentations have led to different forms of media such as opera, ballet, sound recordings, television and movies. Even musicals have been created with "The Taming of the Shrew" acting as the inspiration for "Kiss Me Kate" while "Macbeth" acted as the inspiration for a political satire called "Macbird!" In "Hamlet" it is said that the reason for theatre performance is to â€Å"hold the mirror up to nature.† To most, this is exactly what Shakespeare has done with the lasting impressions left by his works from their first productions to the latest versions. While Shakespeare’s influence is undeniable, many factors still question his genius and intellect as a legitimate author that still fascinates literary enthusiasts today.

Analysis of History :: American America History

Analysis of History "History is the memory of things said and done. Every man is a historian." I agree that history includes everything said and done, to a certain extent. There are levels of history. The relevance to each individual's life determines the significance and importance of the certain event. Also, it should only be studied, perhaps, if the event has a certain impact on the person who is studying it. If an action proved to be important to an individual in the present or the future, that incident would be a sort of personal history. If it were meaningful to a large group of people, it would be a less individual kind of history. The type of history that is commonly taught is the less personal kind. History teachers think that this kind of national history has more relevance to each person's life than the more individual events. However, sometimes the personal events are more important and leave a bigger impact on an individual than the national history. In one dictionary, history is defined as "a written account of events, particularly of those affecting a nation, institution, science, or art..." I think that this definition of History completely counteracts the original quote. In my opinion, if one were to do something that only effected himself, it would still be history. It would not have that big of an impact on the world, but to that person, it could have been very influential. Another definition of history says that it " is a methodical record of important events which concern a community of men." Once again, in my opinion history does not have to effect a community of men in order for it to be important or significant. Also, history does not have to be written in order for it to be relevant or to have an impact. Even a simple story passed from generation to generation with clues from the past is a form of history. If one were to write that cavemen had three legs, it would not make it history. Whether it is written or not does not affect the truth and facts of the situation. I agree that history is simply just the memory of past events. The remembrance of an occurrence shows that it is relevant enough to be remembered. It is important that a historical event is remembered the same by all.

Messaging in 2.0 World

IntroductionIt has become apparent that all sectors of the economy are depending on the technology development for the organizational growth and for their general economic growth. Jennewein (2005) has argued that in the business sector of the current century, the requirements are different from the past century. This is because in the 20th century, the business enterprises depended on physical aspects such as land and machines for business success.This has however changed and the 21st century businesses are depending on intangible assets such as knowledge and know how of its employees, as well as intellectual property rights. This has forced companies if they are to succeed in any business endeavor to create and update new technological competencies and replace all obsolete technologies and products within the organization.Technology has also improved the mode of providing education system to both the learners and the teachers, especially in the library use. The use of technology in libraries has a backdated history as in early eighties as has been argued by Grosch (1995), that,the decade of the eighties would bring systems technology and new electronic forms of access to smaller library through the microcomputer. A more global view of automated library systems would emerge. Communications and linking of users to library systems remotely with gateways to arrays of locally available databases were becoming a brighter possibility. Finally library automation and application of the computer to bibliographic activities would become a natural phenomena since parent organization also were evolving to a more global information systems strategy, (pp.49).Messaging in a 2.0 worldLearning and teaching is supposed to be fun and enjoyed to the student and the teacher. There are different ways that education can be made easy and enjoyable. One of the ways is by undertaking technologically changes that can make the learning and teaching process to be easy.   Technology makes availability and use of learning materials easily accessed and to go with the current economic requirements.Technology changes have been continuously making the learning and teaching process easier for the student and the tutor. Materials can be easily accessed and shared among the different users of such materials. For instance, the new web 2.0 sites slideshare enables people to share presentations on slideshows.It is also possible to use the system to â€Å"upload PowerPoint, open office, keynote or PDF presentation, tag them into your blog or website, browse others’ presentations and comment on individual slides†, (Stephens 2007 pg 61). This has increased knowledge sharing as one can be able to know immediately what others feel about the work they’ve done, and where there is need of improvement.These kinds of changes in technology have made information not to be seen as a container of value but the knowledge alongside the changes. Knowledge, like all the oth er sectors keeps on changing and people have to keep pace with the changing technology so as to ensure they are not left behind in development or, in competitive advantage in businesses.Twitter messaging is a means of the current technology being used widely. To understand how twitter functions, think of it â€Å"like a personal IM account that can be shared with everyone. Once you have a twitter account set up, you can send short IM, SMS or web-based messages to twitter†, (King, 2007).Therefore, twitter can be defined as a system that allows users to update messages containing up to a maximum of 140 characters to the twitter website via SMS, Instant Messaging or e-mails. The updates will be displayed to the profile pages of the user and instantly delivered to the other end user who has signed up to receive them.Uses of messaging 2.0 world in libraries.The web 2.0 technology is becoming more useful in the library use. It is widely used especially in communicating in conferenc es, keeping up with the development in the filed and promoting library services.Ruby on rail technology is one of the of the twitter technology that can be used to keep track of the library employees. According to Williams (2006), â€Å"Ruby on rails is an open source web development framework that allows you to rapidly develop data-driven applications using ruby programming language†. An application in this context refers to web applications such as Basecamp and flickr. Ruby rails programming can be used in many computer applications including Basecamp, blogging platforms (e.g. Mephisto) and twitter.Twitter is the most interesting of the Ruby Rails as it enables one to keep track of the colleagues whenever they are by the use of SMS text messaging, Instant Messaging or the web by posting updates (Williams, 2006). To use the twitter to track a person, the cell phone is set to use the twitter and an SMS is send to the twitter short code, containing the updates, the message wil l be automatically posted to the twitter site. With this, it will be possible to spread the contacts cell phones so as to see what those in the contact phone are doing.  This kind of technology is being used in libraries to trace down the employees of the library in an organization. It will be possible to know if the employees are at their workstations or not, and the exact work they are doing. There are many new methods of communication that comes up on a daily basis in the organization due to technological changes. It is therefore important that the organization chooses the method that is more suitable and appropriate to the organization.In library organizations messaging technology allows the employees to set up twitter accounts and share their information. The workers can be able to locate coworkers Instant Messaging name. It can also help employees to know exactly the working hours of their colleagues and thus be able to relay any information or seek any urgent information at that particular time. While working with this system, it is possible that the patron might also stumble on the employee’s information while browsing and thus send reference question to the employee’s site.Another means that the SMS can be used in libraries is through referencing. The first SMS referencing mode was started at the South Eastern Louisiana University by Mr. Hill in 2005, (LibranInBlack. Net, 2005).The reference uses the Altarama referencing system. The system operates between 8 am – 9 pm, as this is the period that the librarians are around to answer questions from the clients. The SMS/text messaging referencing systems of the South Eastern Louisiana University is limited to 160 characters. The SMS that is send to the librarian reaches the end as an e-mail and then when the librarian answers the email, it gets to the other end user as an SMS. Because the librarian is only required to use short answers, it will not create problems related to typing especially to those who have a poor typing speed. This will ensure that the replies are not delayed because of the typing problem.The Altarama referencing system has got unique text messaging numbers set bundles of text messages. For the email on the librarian side, the system allows the products to run seamlessly with MS outlook. The Library number is always the sender, hence the email message will stand out in the inbox of the recipient.   If the recipient is using outlook, it is possible to reply directly through email. â€Å"If not, you [the recipient] need to use whatever e-mail program you are using and manually respond (copying and pasting in the ‘to’ field)†, (LibranInBlack. Net, 2005).The South Eastern Louisiana University referencing system tried as much as possible to limit the characters to 160. Responses can be sent in multiple messages but the librarians’ try as much as possible to have only one message. This is because the system gives the m room to do this by automatically abbreviating some words, such as, for -4, too-2.The system also helps to keep the exact time that the transaction took place and the number of the transactions without keeping the actual messages of the transactions that took place. The library systems only accepts text messaging and not images. Therefore, incase a person sends an image message, the library will indicate error message.The synchronous messaging system in the libraries allows real- time communication between individuals. â€Å"Librarians have began employing it to provide ‘chat reference’ services, where patrons can synchronously communicate with librarians much as they would in a face – to – face reference context, (Manness, 2006).Manness argues that Web 2.0 is considered to be consistent with tenet 2.0 as it â€Å"allows for collaboration between the patrons and librarians, it allows a more dynamic experience than the fundamentally static, created-then- consume nature of 1.0 service†.The importance of using this mode of interaction in the successor of the library system has enabled the librarian to adopt the successors of the library web system more quickly and expertly. There have been improvement in the instant messaging that have seen the inclusion of audio and video messaging also becoming increasingly common in the library use.Libraries have started placing â€Å"links to their charts reference service within resources themselves such as at the article level in subscription data bases†, (Manness, 2006). The system has been developed so that the chart reference takes place within the framework of the library system as much as it could have been when dealing with a physical library patron.Library 2.0 has also been designed to offer immediate help to a user whenever it seems that there is a problem in using the library system. This is possible when certain user behaviors are detected in the system. The common behavio r that can indicate the librarian patron that the user needs help in the use of the library service is when a â€Å"user browses through certain materials repeating steps and moving cyclically through a classification scheme or series of resources,† Manness (2006). The use of a synchronous messaging service is useful tool to the patrons in giving the assistance to the library user  Ã‚   whenever in problem of accessing library materials.Librarians have been using the messaging system to promote the service of the library. Library creates several twitter accounts and sends messages to its client’s in various categories informing them of the services offered at the library. Since the message gets to the end use instantly, it becomes an effective tool in carrying out promotional activities compared to the other mode of media communication. Therefore, to be completely in competitive environment like any other business organizations, libraries have got to tactically promo te its services to attract more users of its products. In promotion, libraries have especially benefited through the technology in reaching to their clients in the remote area easily.The new technology of library 2.0 implies that the librarians take the library to where the users are instead of the users going to the library. These sites are also important in that they put the library where the users are, and especially meets the needs of the users who are constantly on the move.There are still increased numbers of libraries world wide adopting the system of the SMS referencing. The Lee Kong Chian Reference Library has adopted the SMS referencing system because of the high penetration of cellular phones in Singapore. The increased number of cellular phones and Internet use has created avenue for increased online chat.â€Å"Trends such as these suggest that SMS could be an ideal way to reach out to a greater pool of potential users of our reference enquiry service†, (Han and S eng, 2007). The use of cellular phone as a tool of obtaining referencing material is advantageous in that it is very portable. This has made it an ideal solution for the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library to use it for posting reference materials for those who have got a tight schedule such that it is not possible for them to visit the library personally to receive any information they need.Apart from the recipient getting immediate information, the users of the web 2.0 world referencing system can be able to maintain their anonymity  Ã‚   while seeking assistance from the libraries. The system is also receiving much advocacy because it can be used or accessed at any time of the day, or within any period, i.e. its operation is 24/7/365ConclusionTechnology in all sectors of the economy enhances service delivery to both service providers and the clients. This technological improvement ensures that the service delivery is offered at the best disposal of both the client and providers.Li braries like any other sectors of the economy have to embrace technological changes and use it positively to increase performance level in the organization. Despite all the obstacles that might be associated with the new technology, in the long run when the system has been fully and nicely implemented it becomes more beneficial to the organization than the sunk costs that might have been brought due to implementing the system.To ensure that the technology receives positive acknowledgement from all stakeholders, Librarians should try to make the system simple and easy to use to both users so as to increase the attitude of the users towards that technology rather than making them shun it away.ReferenceJennewein K. (2005): Intellectual Property Management. The Role Of Technology Brands InThe Appropriation  Ã‚   Of Technological Innovation, Springer, ISBN 3790802808.King D L. (2007). Twitter Explained for Librarians or 10 Ways to Use Twitter, Retrieved on29th Oct 2007 from http://www. davidleeking.com/2007/03/10/twtter-explained-for-librarians-or-10-ways-to-use-twitter/Manness J.M (2006): Library 2.0, Theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for librariesRetrieved on 29th Oct 2007 http://www.webology.org/2006/v3n2/a25.htmlStephens. T. (2007): Trademark 2.0: Defining Your Value in the web 2.0, World Lulu.com,ISBN 061556886.Williams J. (2006). What is Ruby on rails? Retrieved on 29th Oct 2007 fromhttp://www.digital-web.com/articles/ruby_on_rails_for_the_rest_of_us/

History of Marie Antoinette as a Leader Essay

  Marie Antoinette has acquired a rather bad legacy in world history. She was the Archduchess of Austria, the Queen of France, and the fifteenth child of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. She was also the wife of King Louis XVI, the unpopular king of France. She was also the lucrative symbol of taste, power, and notoriety. Indeed, one when servant said, â€Å"the people of Paris are rioting because they have no bread,’ Marie Antoinette replied ‘Then, they should eat cake. ’ Marie Antoinette’s Austrian origin had made her an easy target of the revolutionaries who accused the royal family of treason. Many of the king’s decision and some of the ministers were heavily influenced by the queen. One such example was the king’s decision to remove Jacques Necker as minister of finance. The libelles accused the queen of having illegitimate sexual encounters with several lovers – a violation of state and church law. These accusations reflected the image of the Crown and in general the legitimacy of the ruling dynasty. Indeed, throughout France, the queen’s name was synonymous with disgust and luxury. The queen however was a leader cloaked in notoriety. As Larry Wolff argued: Precisely the qualities that were making Marie Antoinette into an emblem of decadence for the ancient regime had been realized on the brink of the French Revolution. The queen led by notoriety and abuse, whilst the king led by example and authority. Indeed, Marie Antoinette was not only the symbol of hatred and disgust, she was in essence the manifestation of such qualities (25). As a woman, Marie Antoinette was initially a person of integrity. When Maria Antoine became the only potential bride in the family, Empress Maria Theresa was generally dismayed. Marie Antoine had a cracked smile, due perhaps to the irregularity of her teeth. The empress commissioned a French doctor to perform some painful oral surgeries. After several months, France and Austria set a large dowry for Marie Antoinette. On the 7th of May 1770, Marie Antoinette was handed to the French monarchy. Madame Antoine showed great interest in the marriage, as it was the only way to forge a powerful alliance between the two great powers. Reaction to the marriage was initially mixed. The would-be-queen was popular among the French public. Indeed, her first appearance in the French capital was considered a success. At court, Marie Antoinette was not very popular. The nobles called Marie Antoinette ‘the Austrian woman. ’ Prominent officials of the court accused the queen of attempting to bend the king to Austria’s interests. The queen was frivolous of French politics. Indeed, in a letter to Empress Maria Theresa, her mother, she said: Madame, my very dear mother, I am delighted that Lent has not damaged your health. Mine is still rather good. The same can be said of my husband and the public. I am very grateful that the French people have accepted me as their queen. My joy is politics. Politics is what drives the kingdom into excitement and prejudice (32). Marie Antoinette’s relationship with the mistress of Louis VX was not very good. The mistress, Madame du Barry influenced the king to remove duc de Choiseul from power. Marie Antoinette spoke to Madame du Barry to resolve the crisis. After their conversation, the mistress was satisfied and the crisis over. The king, Louis XV, was pleased with Marie Antoinette. The influence of the Dauphine increased dramatically after the crisis. Marie Antoinette’s anxiety forced her to spend more on fashion and gambling. She spent mindlessly on clothing, special trips, shoes, and perfumes. She also developed intimate friendships with the ladies of the court. The princess de Lamballe became the Superintendent of the Household; the duchesse de Polignac became the Governess of the royal children; the comtesse de Provence became the teacher of the royal children. On the 27th of April 1774, the king fell ill. Marie Antoinette pressured the king to send his mistress away from Versailles. On the 10th of May, the king died of smallpox. The Dauphin was crowned King Louis XVI of France at Rheims. Marie Antoinette, unfortunately, was not crowned queen. Marie Antoinette became more and more desperate after the comtesse d’Artois gave birth to a son. The queen plunged into a spending spree – buying clothes from prominent dressmakers from Paris and gambling. The queen also attracted admirers from the king’s court. Louis XVI gave Marie Antoinette a duty. She was given responsibility to renovate the Petit Trianon. She ordered the construction of an elaborate garden with an arboretum of exotic species. Madame de Pompadour became one of the queen’s closest friends. With the consent of the king, the queen instituted several changes in the court. The queen abolished segregated dining spaces in the court and abandoned heavy make-up and widehooped panniers. The queen also participated in plays and musicals. She was very fond of acting and singing. She also started to influence the appointment of officials in the state. The Marquis de Castries and the Comte de Segur became minister of the navy and minister of war respectively. Unknown to many, their appointments were approved by Jacques Necker, the finance minister. On the 29th of November 1780, Empress Maria Theresa, the queen’s mother, died. Marie Antoinette was worried that the death of her mother would destroy the Franco-Austrian alliance. She sent a letter to Emperor Joseph to request an assurance that Austria had no intention of leaving the alliance. The success of Marie Antoinette’s correspondence saved the country from embarrassment. The king rewarded her with precious items for her services to the French nation. She soon gave birth to a male heir – the Dauphin. However, after the death of her mother, Marie Antoinette was semi-retired from politics. The king shelved the queen from the affairs of the court. Indeed, the king rarely talked to the queen about official policy. As a mother, Marie Antoinette devoted so much time for the royal children. She would tirelessly look after her children and even the children of her courtiers. The queen also read famous historical novels as well as Rousseau’s political philosophy. The queen developed an appetite for leaning the English language. On the 27th of March 1785, the queen gave birth to a second son. There were, of course, suspicions of infidelity. The image of a conspicuous, hard-headed, and spendthrift queen was becoming a public expression. A second daughter was born two years later. According to Wolff and Hubert, Marie Antoinette was a concocted image of power (92). She was the power behind the throne, not in its classic sense. Her actions were beyond the reprove of the king. Indeed, her actions proved detrimental to the king’s position. She also played one minister against another in an attempt to strengthen her own position. It is not a classic expression of power play, but a magnified reaffirmation of the queen’s uncertain position. The queen, above all, was never deterred by the intensity of French politics. She was politically independent. An example of such instance was her management of the Trianon. According to Sheriff: From the moment she was in possession of the petit Trianon, it was spread about in some societies that she had changed the name of the pleasure pavilion that the king had just given her and had substituted that of little Vienna or little Schonbrunn. A man of court, simple enough to believe the rumor and desiring to enter into her society at the petit Trianon wrote to M. Campan to ask permission of the queen. He had in his letter called Trianon little Vienna (61). During the French Revolution, the queen’s extraordinary qualities as a ‘born’ politician and power player began to emerge gradually. She sent letters to the German and Austrian monarchs to restore Louis XVI to the throne. She also sent correspondence to the British prime minister, enumerating the dangers of the Revolution. From time to time, she was actively involved in conspiracy. When she was about to be beheaded, she remarked with haste ‘Long Live the Bourbon dynasty. From a historical perspective, Marie Antoinette was an effective leader in its classic sense. Her power plays were not without purpose. Indeed, her influence was based on pure politics and charisma. Works Cited Sheriff, Mary. ‘Portrait of a Queen. ’ Marie Antoinette: Writings on the body of a Queen. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 2008. Wolff, Larry. ‘Hapsburg Letters. ’ Marie Antoinette: Writings on the body of a Queen. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 2008. Wolff, L and G. Hubert. The Monarchy in Flames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.