Effects of Deforestation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Effects of Deforestation - Essay Example Deforestation changes the geomorphologic, hydrological, and biochemical states of streams by decreasing vapor-transpiration on the land surface, hence river discharge and run-off. This leads to the elimination of huge percentage of earth’s native vegetation that significantly alters the hydrological and morphological characteristics of watershed areas. The discharge has increased over the years and computer simulations suggest that about two-thirds of the increase are due to deforestation (Coe et al. 119).Extensive destruction of vegetation in most cases leads to increased conflict between people and forest animals. This occurs when people plant crops near the habitats of these forest animals. The animals will destroy the crops or injure humans, who in turn attack and killing them. In addition, there is people-to-people conflict whereby settlers invade deforested lands bringing their culture and influences thus changing lives of the indigenous forest people. Deforestation has a negative effect on the ecosystem and the atmosphere (Spilsbury 26). It is evident that deforestation does not benefit anyone and has long-term effects. Clearing of forests may be due to social, economic or political reasons. Whatever the short-term benefits, the result is devastating. The effects of deforestation are quite evident globally irrespective of concerned authorities coming up appropriate conservation methods meant to curb deforestation through humanity’s ignorance proves to be a big hindrance.

The Battle of Britain Essay Example for Free

The Battle of Britain Essay ‘Never the Master, Always the Servant. ’ How Accurate is this Statement in Regard to Wolsey’s Conduct of Foreign Policy 1513-29? â€Å"Had I but served God as diligently as I have served the King, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs. † Cardinal Wolsey c. 1472-1530 Here Wolsey himself professed his obedience to Henry VIII, but historians of the previous century and a half claimed that between 1513 and 1529 foreign policy was governed entirely by Wolsey, some suggesting that Henry gave only perfunctory approval to his decrees. Modern historians dispute this, the king’s aspirations and decisions being of fundamental importance. The matter remains unsettled however, regarding the extent of Wolsey’s influence and manipulation. Contemporaries argued that Wolsey was effectual ruler, â€Å"Alter Rex† during particularly the mid 1520s, his palatial home eclipsing Henry’s in political importance. Wolsey was clearly very cunning; he won Henry’s favour by shrewdly encouraging him to enjoy leisure activities and leave the mundane politicking to him – exploiting the mistakes of his predecessors. Cavendish declares, â€Å"Thus the almoner ruled all those that ruled before him†. However, Wolseys desperation to gain Henry’s esteem is evidence merely of the need for Henry’s approval – as Wolsey clearly appreciated. Henry intervened less in politics before 1529 than he did afterwards, but as Peter Gwyn recognises; this was only due to his sincere satisfaction and comprehension of Wolseys loyalty. From 1512 Wolsey climbed the political ladder very swiftly; utilising the opportunity of the French invasion to exceed Henry’s expectations and impress the king with prizes in Tournai and Therouanne. By mid 1514 Wolsey was receiving all the king’s important business affairs, and exploiting Henry’s need for an authoritative chief servant fully Wolsey admittedly used his persuasion to gain himself numerous offices – Dean of Lincoln, Bishop of Tournai, Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of York. Although Warham still held the most senior church office, as Archbishop of Canterbury, Wolsey had won himself Lord Chancellorship by 1518, making him head of the legal system. However Wolseys ascendancy was resultant from Henry’s appreciation of his talents, by the time of the treaty of St. Germaine-en-Laye with France in 1514 Randell recognises Henry’s apparent disinterest with routine diplomacy, â€Å"He was still keen to win glory, but was content for someone else to arrange it for him. † His connections with the Papal authorities brought about suspicion that he had tied England to Roman foreign policy, such as Pollard’s insinuation that Wolsey considered his duty to his spiritual master over that over the king – In 1518 he was appointed ‘Legatus a latere’, a position he was guaranteed for life in 1524. Scarisbrick however discredits Papal loyalty, acknowledging Wolseys disregard for Papal instruction as frequently as it was adhered to. Although England and the papacy had common interests, it was merely coincidental for the Pope’s wishes to be followed, and the king himself had the same attitude to Wolsey towards the pope. Henry wanted to become ‘Defender of the Faith’ and did so, in 1521, and there is more proof that it was he who encouraged Wolsey to pursue the office of Pope than vice versa. As Palmer asserts, â€Å"Wolsey was no more or less a servant of the Papacy than Henry himself. † Wosley required the position of ‘Prince of the Church’ (gained 1515) because he had not won such approval from the Papcy as he had from his royal master. He did not wish to rival Henry’s authority by becoming ‘Prince of the State’ because he was assured of Henry’s support. Although Wolsey bragged of being â€Å"author of the peace† at the Treaty of London in 1518, and despite evidence for him formulating his own policies by 1517; as Gwyn defends – he was winning glory for his master. Scarisbrick recognises Wolseys desire to become arbiter of Europe, but his dependence upon Henry is undeniable. As Randell recognises, Wolsey often hid things from Henry and considered ways in which he could put things to him in order to provoke a desired response, to push contenders away and get away with more than he officially should. Vergil even suggested that Wolsey bribed Henry with gifts to distract him whilst he was making demands and to gain further favour. All these efforts, however, merely emphasize Wolseys dependence upon the king and his desperation to maintain his support. Randell suggests that Wolsey made independent decisions – often trivial but sometimes-major ones, but Henry could and sometimes did intervene. Wolsey always needed to appear to be implementing Henry’s decisions even if it was not always strictly the case. Skelton and Palsgrave, authors of articles in the House of Lords December 1929 attacked Wolseys arrogance and misrule during parliament and regarding matters of foreign policy, alleging he bestowed himself excess authority and wrongfully excluded other councillors from attending court, but evidence suggests that they were pursuing a ruthless campaign to get him dismissed. Although, as Guy points out, up until 1927 â€Å"more than the details were left to Wolsey† Henry was nevertheless broadly responsible throughout all matters of foreign policy. Wolsey may have organised much of the minor details, such as the essential transport arrangements and food supplies during invasions, but it was under Henry’s direction and command. The king would instruct Wolsey and provide details of the task, which Wolsey undeniably fulfilled exceptionally and often made fitting amendments to Henry’s broader schemes. Henry’s certain dominance was clear throughout a number of issues. In 1518 Henry backed the Holy Roman Emperor despite Wolseys disproval and efforts to persuade him oppositely. Scarisbrick identifies disparagement between Henry and Wolsey throughout the events of 1520 and 1521; the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 was extremely expensive and Wolsey discouraged Henry from spending such vast amounts of money on what he anticipated to be a political fiasco, yet the event went ahead with no expenses spared – regardless of Wolseys advice. In 1521 Wolsey wanted peace in contrast to Henry’s desire for warfare, but Wolsey was made to journey around Europe; negotiating with Charles in Bruges that England and Spain should ally against France, and then returning to Calais. His consolation being that war would be delayed until 1522 – but Henry’s leadership is clear, the attack was still launched and Wolsey left disregarded once more. As Gwyn appreciates, Wolsey realised the importance of bringing honour to his master through dominating affairs – which his desired neutrality would not bring. Wolsey deceived France against his own wishes to preserve Henry’s major international role. In 1525 the Battle of Pavia saw the capture of King Francis and the strengthening of Henrys desire to become Imperial Ruler. Wolsey was then unable to act as an Imperial Arbitrator, Henry VIII wanted an Imperial Alliance and Wolsey was forced to attempt the Amicable Grant for Henry to invade France, but this was impossible and in August the Treaty of the More was signed after the French war. The reversal was extremely embarrassing for Wolsey, who went through humiliation and dispute to please Henry VIII, eventually gaining an annual pension of 100000 gold crowns. Historian Dana Scott Campbell understands Wolsey as being motivated to tread the path necessary to ensure personal advancement and power in England. By satisfying Henry VIII with international glory and prestige his support was ensured; although his power was enhanced by the Papal authorities, Roman influence was limited – his self interest, over all else, forced him to please Henry primarily and the Pope if possible. He acted with more alacrity for Henry, and with more determination, joining the Anti-Imperial League of Cognac in 1526 and declaring war two years later. The Treaty of Cambrai in 1529 was a desperate attempt by Wolsey to retain Henry’s partiality, and was signed by the leaders of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire. Wolsey underwent mortification and infringement of his own desires in order to please his King, both in the matters which he may have seem to control and in those which were quite obviously of Henry’s design. Whether due to arrogance and untamed ambition or merely a desire to satisfy the King – Wolsey routinely aimed to please him in all aspects of foreign policy. Grossel appreciates Wolseys desire to serve the king; convictions in Wolseys vanity are now outdated as Wolsey clearly wanted to maintain the honour and influence of his own position through that of his king. Henry’s absolute dominance is evidenced by the impossibility of Wolsey sustaining esteem as European Arbitrator because of Henry’s belligerence (as well as the treachery of the European Kings). His independent decisions occurred only when permitted, or occasionally unknown, by Henry. Wolseys position was secured for the most part because of Henry’s satisfaction with his conduct – had it not been so (as in later years) Wolsey would have been rapidly dismissed. However, Randell recognises that the evidence for both supporting and admonishing Wolseys loyalty is in the form of letters written only to deceive the recipients, disparate word of mouth and untrustworthy third parties – all of it unreliable.

The Moonstone Essay :: essays research papers

The Moonstone Essay The Moonstone, written in 1868 by Wilkie Collins is a mystery novel about a gem called "The Moonstone". The moonstone is somewhat a symbol of what everyone strives for, beauty and power. In the book, justice plays a huge role in terms of doing what is fair and morally right through action and attitude. Although the moonstone is overbearingly beautiful and breathtaking, like all beautiful things, it has a history "..that crime brings its own fatality with it" (Ch. IV). With such great beauty, the moonstone almost takes power and control over people, making them act out in such ways just to get their hands on it. The Moonstone does not come from England. Herncastle, the uncle of Rachel Verinder steals the gem while in battle. Before Herncastle takes possession of the Moonstone, the stone has already passed through the hands of a number posseors. During the first narrative, the gem is explained as a symbol of wealth and power that no man should ever possess, even though so many wish to get their hands on it. And with such demands for people to stay away from it, lures all to want it crave even more. In a way, the moonstone symbolized the conquering that Herncastle did while in India, allowing the moonstone to almost become a trophy of his doings. This is not just at all, it was known that the invasion on India was to make them less barbaric, when in reality, what the English were doing to India was forcing their beliefs and culture on them, in an obviously not mannerable way. "... "the shrine of Hindoo pilgrimage, and the wonder of the eastern world" (Ch. II of the prologue ). The moonstone was rightfully a part of India that was stolen after Herncastle kills many people, a trophy for murder has to carry some consequences with it, and so; it did. After his death, Herncastle leaves the moonstone,aware of the seriousness of the stone, to his niece Rachel Verinder to get back at the family that excluded him. He puts it in the hands of Mr.Franklin Blake to deliver the stone to Rachel. When Mr. Blake arrives at the Verinder house, there were words about Indiains that were disguising themselves as jugglers and magicians in order to try and get information on the whereabouts of the moonstone in hopes of getting it back and returning it to it's rightfully owners, the Indians themselves.

nigeria and us women and development :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women as a group make up an enormous portion of the world’s population. Thus the development of women, the changes implemented that affect them both positively and negatively are integral in study the world. Introduction to the field of women and development can be traced back to the 1950’s post World War II., specifically the period of reconstruction. Due to focus on external issues rather than internal issues, programs like the United States Marshall Plan were created, emphasizing the need to bridge the gap between developing and developed nations. The study of women and development gives an overall perspective of women’s development in comparison to other areas. Women’s development shapes many things including our perspectives and our public policies. I will assess the contributions of the three major theoretical debates applied to the field of women and development and explain how they shaped the field.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first and perhaps the most dominant perspective, Women in Development (WID) stresses western values and targets individuals as catalysts for social change. The origins of this perspective came about after the release of Esther Boserup’s book entitled Women’s Role in Economic Development. The theory points out that modernization had somehow bypassed women and that some segments actually destabilized the prevailing position of women. The theory argues that legal and administration modifications are needed to facilitate change and integrate women into economic systems. The most notable contribution of WID is that it drew attention to women’s questions in the arena of development theory and practice. While WID emphasizes the productive role of women, it overlooks the direct influence of race, class and culture and it minimizes the reproductive role of women entirely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women and Development (WAD) emerged in the 1970’s; its primary basis was critiquing the earlier theory of WID. Essentially, WAD contends that economic growth and the industrialization of the West were based upon the exploitation of nations that were subjected to colonial rule. The theory focuses on the idea that countries are core, semi-peripheral and peripheral. Power–dependency relationships are reflected in an international division of labor that encompasses each of these types. Core nations, including the major powers of Western Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan dominate globally by virtue of their domestic and international strength. According to conventional world-system arguments, the countries in the periphery of the world-system, the least developed nations in Africa and Asia, such as Bangladesh and Rwanda are relatively weaker than the core nations and to a lesser extent, the semi-periphery nations such as Chile and Libya.

Salt Harbor Case

Salt Harbor Exercise The Salt Harbor exercise was a real world negotiation exercise that added many factors into the decision making. In this exercise, Lukas and I were partners. Lukas was the buyer and I was the seller. In this negotiation, I had recently purchase some property that I wanted to build into a coffee shop. The neighbor, who is also the buyer, did not want me to build the coffee shop and instead wanted to purchase the property. Lukas stopped me from being able to build the coffee shop through legal channels. I was given the option to take my chances in court or attempt to tell the property to Lukas and open my coffee shop at another location. ————————————————- This exercise was challenging because, like any real world situation, there was varying degrees of information asymmetry that made negotiating challenging. We were both looking to get more information out of the other person in order to be in a better position to negotiate. What made this exercise even more interesting is that it simulated a real world situation that two people would deal with every day. This made it easier to understand the underlying implication of the exercise as opposed to the first exercise. ————————————————- My Strategy: My initial strategy was to see what Lukas would offer first before I made a bid. Even though I risked being anchored, I want to gather as much information about him and the decisions he is making before I made my bid. I also made sure to understand the implications of my costs and have a reasonable reservation price that would meet my needs. I understood the reservation price as the bare minimum I would ever take for the property and therefore put it at 100. I suppose in my mind, I understood the reservation price to include all possible situations. At 100, this would cover the price I paid for the property and allow me to look for another without losing money. My target value was 165. I chose this because 165 were above the range that I could sell the property to a third party and would also allow me to build my coffee shop at a more expensive location without paying an extra dime. My strategy to come out as even as possible from the exchange and in many ways, I think I ended up giving my opponent the upper hand when I failed to consider that Lukas might want the property even more than I want to get rid of it. My Mistake: My mistake came when I became anchored by the initial offer. When Lukas offered $100 as the initial offer, I thought he was indicating that his limit was really now. I never really imaged that he would offer me such a low value considering how high he authorize to pay for it. Obviously, had Lukas offered a much higher value, I would have most likely adjusted my numbers and strategy to reflect a much higher selling price. However, given his initial offer, I decided to stick with my strategy and attempt to get $165 out of him. My strategy worked to the exact specifications that I originally wanted. I get exactly my target and in many ways was successful in my negotiation. However, I failed to realize the value that the property had for Lucas and how much higher he would be willing to pay for it. I was anchored by his initial offer which subsequently affected my offers. At the same time, had I gone first, I believe a similar outcome would have emerged. I most likely would’ve offered 180 in the hopes of getting it down to 165. I believe the reason I was able to so easily achieve my target or what I wanted is because my price was set too low and it became an easy bargain for Lukas. Behaviors: During the negotiation I tried to gather as much information as possible. It was important to me to understand my opponent as best possible. In these exercises it was easy to negotiate downwards given the friendly nature of the negations. I wanted to find a win-win situation where we were both able to come out of the negotiation feeling good about it. On the other hand, I think Lukas just wanted to maximize his outcome and had no desire to help me win as well. This isn’t necessarily bad in a situation where we would never likely encounter each other gain. I noticed that he was very determined to get the most out of the negotiation. He made a very low offer which made me think that he had a lower reservation price. In general, the mood of the negotiation was very light hearted and open. We were able to discuss our positions and able to reach an agreement. Lukas and I were able to negotiate an agreement that made me satisfied with the outcome. It was a pleasant negotiation overall. If we were to negotiate again in the future, I would keep the lessons I learned in mind and fight harder to achieve a better than optimal outcome, knowing that Lukas will likely attempt to anchor my offer downwards. Lessons: The primary lesson that I learned is to watch out for anchors and also to fight harder for my position. This is especially true if a future negotiation is unlikely to happen. I need to try and maximize the negotiation. An anchor is a powerful tool that affects the negotiation. In future, I will consider harder use the anchor effect to my advantage. Another lesson I learned is that how someone feels following a negotiation is surprisingly relative. In other words, a person may feel happier having gained less money than if they gained more money but felt like they could’ve gotten more. I experienced this phenomenon. I felt very satisfied with the negotiation afterwards, but when I learned that he had a much higher limit and that he made it seem like it was much lower, made me very upset. In a way, I felt like I was lied to or in deceived, even though Lukas did nothing wrong. Having information is only one of the many tools a good negotiator uses to achieve a better result. ————————————————- Grades: Henrique 9, Lukas 9 I feel strongly that Lukas and I did a good job negotiating. I was able to reach my target of 165 and Lukas was able to get a better deal than what he felt was â€Å"good† (200). Overall, it was a mutually beneficial negotiation. The reason I am giving Lukas and I 9s is due to the fact that there’s always room for improvement. We both could’ve gotten a better deal if we were better negotiators. We both tried to implement the tools we learned in class in order to achieve the outcome we wanted and needless to say, we both learned the material well. Lukas used an anchor and I gathered information to understand how much he’s willing to negotiate.

How A Larger Role in Today’s Church Is Helping Young Women Essays

How A Larger Role in Today’s Church Is Helping Young Women Essays How A Larger Role in Today’s Church Is Helping Young Women Essay How A Larger Role in Today’s Church Is Helping Young Women Essay Even in today’s 21st century, there is a debate on the role that women should play in the American Christian church.   Some believe that women should be relegated the traditional background roles that they’ve been subjected to in the past.   Others say that women should play more active roles, especially in regards to church leadership.   Despite the controversy over this issue, one must admit that the women’s liberation movement in America has had a profound impact on how women have advance in today’s contemporary American church. As American society began to make gradual steps like granting women the right to vote in Wyoming in 1890 and passing the 19th Amendment, which allowed all American citizens the right to vote, the church, which played an instrumental role in the development of our country, also began to make changes on the behalf of women.   In 1968 when affirmative action was passed, barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, many church leaders also began to ease the restrictions on women as it relates to accepting their ministerial credentials. After the late 1960s, women have made more strides towards gender equality in the church and in the American workplace.   In fact, thousands of women have accepted the call to minister in their churches and several women televangelists have taken their mega ministries to millions of people through television and the internet.   Nevertheless, female ministers continue face resistance from older denominations like the Baptists and some Pentecostal churches.   Other ministers preach small minded sermons that focuses on limiting women’s choices in the type of make up, hairstyles and clothing that they can wear.   This, in turn, discourages younger women from developing their spiritual lives.   As women have become liberated socially and economically, the church must minister to their needs.   Thus, as women continue to rise to leadership positions in the church, the Christian community will become more effective in ministering to the need of today’s young Americ an women. Some church leaders argue that allowing females to have a greater role in American churches would cause confusion and undermine the Christian concept of male leadership.   These leaders focus on verses from biblical scripture which include Ephesians 5:22-23, â€Å"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.   For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.†Ã‚   (The Holy Bible 1665) These leaders justify promoting a passive image of how women should behave in the church.   This passive image certainly does not include permitting them to take a leadership role like teaching or preaching to a congregation.     Furthermore, those who argue against female leadership also use scriptures like 1Corinthians 14:34 which states, â€Å"Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law says.†Ã‚   (The Holy Bible 1636) Accord ing to Christian freelance writer Nathaniel L. Williams, this scripture does not forbid female Christian leadership in the 20th or 21st Century. Some of the things that Paul wrote (such as a similarly misinterpreted verse in 1 Corinthians 14 about women keeping silent) were written in the interest of keeping peace in newly formed Christian churches, as Jewish traditions were being reinterpreted in light of the Gospel.   These verses were also based on cultural norms of propriety at the time that the letter was written. (Williams 25) Other church leaders oppose the idea of women taking a greater role in churches because they feel that women do not possess the mental fortitude to lead or minister to a congregation.   Those who subscribe to this philosophy cite that women are by nature emotional creatures and it takes a rational mind to properly lead a congregation.   However, women from Wesleyan churches in the late 19th Century began to defy these stereotypes by preaching powerful evangelistic sermons.   Methodist Bishop James M. Mobun attributed Amanda Smith’s powerful evangelistic preaching to â€Å"that invisible something that we are accustomed to call power and never possessed by any Christian believer except as one of the fruits of the indwelling Spirit of God.†Ã‚   (Stanley 73) Thus, preachers like Amanda Smith had mentally strong to defy church leadership and follow their personal convictions. Preachers like Amanda Smith had to be courageous to follow beliefs because they were confronted by principalities and powers that are pervasive Christian institutions and traditions as well as their cultural generation.   These types of women were truly courageous because they came against the authorities of their day. (Stanley 71) Phoebe, who was mentioned in the book of Romans by Apostle Paul, was also a pioneer for women who lead in church leadership.   The verse states: â€Å"I commend to you Phoebe our sister who is a servant of the church in Cencherea. That you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many an of myself also.†Ã‚   (The Holy Bible 1619) Some Greek scholars have said that Phoebe was one of the first deacons.   However, the Greek terminology for the word â€Å"servant† in the previous verse means â€Å"minister.†Ã‚   This scripture proves that women are capable of serving in leadership positions within the Christian church. As women take a greater role in today’s church, they will be able to use their positions of authority to remedy some of the social ills that impact America.   A recent report from Norway states that women have played a tremendous role in rearing healthy Christian families.   If these Christian women could devote some of their energies toward developing programs to fight worldwide problems like illiteracy, poverty and AIDS in communities across this country, our nation could alleviate some of these problems.   Wesleyan women like Jennine Fowler were instrumental in the Temperance Crusades, which discouraged communities from overindulging in alcoholic beverages.   â€Å"These women were strengthened by The Holy Spirit, besieged tavern owners and boldly confronted the customers, demanding that they forsake alcohol and turn to God.† (Stanley 72) Reports show that Wesleyan women were also involved in mission work, which consisted of door to door poverty campaigns.   The women who participated in these outreach programs offered financial services as well as practical advice to families who were trapped in poverty.   As our nation embarks upon a new decade in two years, more people will begin to look to a church that has a balanced male and female perspective to pressing problems like gang violence, domestic abuse and joblessness. As more females take greater roles in today’s church, it would eliminate the stigma of sexism that currently exists in the Christian community.   Oftentimes, the messages that come from pulpits across America reflect the voices of male and how they view society.   Thus, the female perspective on issues like childrearing, dealing with sexual temptation and how to help manage healthy households are nonexistent.   Nevertheless, popular television evangelists like Juanita Bynum, Joyce Meyers and Paula White are ministering in a manner that addresses some of these issues and they are inspiring millions of women on a daily basis. Prophetess Juanita Bynum, an African-American female minister, is known as a bold minister who preaches candidly about her experiences with sexual sin and her recent failed marriage to a widely known minister who was accused of physically abusing her.   â€Å"She’s a great speaker and she’s not afraid to deal with hard relevant issues,† says Lesley Powers, who is currently enrolled in a local ministerial training program.   Bynum has preached to large crowds of 52,000 at â€Å"Woman Thou Art Loosed.† a popular conference hosted by successful televangelist T.D. Jakes.   â€Å"All churches especially traditional churches need to deal with issues that Juanita Bynum addresses during her meetings,† Powers adds.   â€Å"God has deposited something in her spirit and she is impacting the body of Christ with it.†Ã‚   Some attribute Bynum’s success with the release of her sermon, which became a book called â€Å"No More Sheets.†Ã‚   The book highlights Bynum’s struggles with sexual promiscuity and encourages women to become celibate until they are married.   â€Å"Many churchgoers say her straightforward message is bringing Christians and unbelievers to repentance,† Powers adds.   To reach more people, Bynum hosted a television program called â€Å"Morning Glory† which was seen on 15 television stations throughout the country. Joyce Meyer, a noted Bible teacher has also gained notoriety since launching her ministry over 20 years ago.   Meyer, who suffered sexual abuse as a child and endured an emotionally abusive first marriage, uses her ministerial platform to instruct people on how to use Biblical principles to be successful in life’s struggles.   She has authored over 70 books and conducts over 20 conferences around the world.   In February 2005, she was selected by time Time Magazine as one the top 25 evangelical leaders in America.   â€Å"Joyce Meyer speaks candidly with a sense of humor.   Its good that she tells the audience about her own shortcomings,† Powers says.   In her recent book, â€Å"The Power of Simple Prayer,† Meyer shows readers how to effectively communicate with God and shares the impact that prayer has on changing hopeless situations. Meyer works well with the public and has an instinct for what the public wants and will respond to them.   Having a financial â€Å"nest† is not especially important to Joyce and she appears to invest more emotional energy into her career or public life than her private life.   (Gaines 37) Paula White, who co-founded mega church, Without Walls, with her ex husband, began to receive national acclaim in the late 90s.   Like Meyer, she was reared in a dysfunctional home in which her father committed suicide and her mother was an alcoholic.   White also claims that caregivers physically and sexually abused her as a teenager.   Nevertheless, her ministry which includes a national television, Paula, and it is broadcast on Trinity Broadcast Network, The Miracle Channel, The Word Network and Daystar Television.   She has also been featured on numerous broadcast television shows like ABC’s 20/20, Benny Hinn’s â€Å"This Is Your Day† and The 700 Club.   â€Å"as   young women early in my Christian experience, I could relate to Paula White because we had some of the same experiences and struggles,† says Powers. Paula White’s story reverberates with men, women and children-from the business executives to the unemployed, from the rich and famous to the impoverished and poverty stricken.   She is a voice for the 21st Century:   a voice for the voiceless, boldly proclaiming a message of hope, truth and wholeness. (Gaines 42) Lastly, when women have a more active role in churches across the country, ancient Biblical prophecy will come to fruition.   In the second chapter of the book of   Acts, the   described the apostle’s experience of receiving the Holy Spirit, which Jesus Christ left to the disciples who believed that He died and was resurrected after three days. After Peter received the Holy Spirit he said, â€Å"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My spirit and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.†Ã‚   (The Holy Bible 1550) This period in which Peter gave this speech marked the birth of the Christian Church after the day of Pentecost when the first believers were filled with The Holy Spirit.   The word â€Å"prophesy† is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as uttering by divine inspiration.   In other words, Peter was saying that men and women would be able to speak messages from God under divine inspiration in the future.   In the Christian church, those who speak under divine inspiration are ministers or leaders.   Thus, Peter foretold a time in which both men and women would serve as leaders in the church.   In addition, Jesus told his disciples after returning to earth subsequent to his death, â€Å"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.   Go the refore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.†Ã‚   Christian leaders need to realize that they have the responsibility of teaching nations in the 20th and 21st century, which have liberated women socially, politically and economic from male oppression.   These nations like the U.S. will not be receptive to messages which continue to keep women in religious bondage. In essence, as women take their rightful leadership roles in today’s church, the Christian community will continue powerful impact on young females as well as other facets of American society.   In the past, Christian women have demonstrated the ability to solve complex social problems.   Furthermore, popular televangelists like Juanita Bynum and Joyce Meyer have proven that women are capable of leading productive ministries that impact millions of people on a daily basis.   And finally, ancient Biblical prophecy foretold a time in which women, who have historically served in the background, would rise to positions of authority in the Christian world.  Ã‚   Thus, as feminist and women’s rights activists carved out a powerful voice for women in our country throughout the 20th century, female ministers will continue to represent the concerns and issues that young and old women face in the future.

#8220;Argumentative Essay Sample on the Myth of the Half Soul #8220;

#8220;Argumentative Essay Sample on the Myth of the Half Soul #8220; Religion is a potent instrument in directing peoples opinions and conviction so the masculinity of the god it represent certainly have a impressive influence to those who believe that doctrine. When this attitude is taught to a child, he/she receives it as the ultimate truth. As he grows up, the patriarchal society imposes the same teaching through the stories like Beauty and the Beast, Psyche and Eros, Iseult and Tristan, and Lancelot and Guenevere. Because of how I was brought up, I am having a hard time believing that even divine scriptures could be only derived from what a writer just want to believe. And based from the book, the writer is a masculine imposing his power and control over women. The gender used in the Bible that refers to God only imposes mens superiority over women, so as the use of man instead of woman and he instead of she. Using god for this gender issue make patriarchy the natural and original thing. I disagree with the part where it is said that the romantic myth declares that a man longs to posses his beloved and that a woman longs to be posses, not only sexually, but emotionally and spiritually. It is like saying that women should be inferior compared to men. Because of the negative characteristics given to the first woman, females were prearranged to have the same personality. I prefer the first version of origin of humanity were man and woman were made together. It gives a sense of equality compared to that version where Eve was made for Adam. The myth about the rib only suppresses women’s image. Man is given the authority to say that they are guilty of sins but accuse Eve as responsible for it. Like in the story of Iseult, a couple could not be happily married forever because they followed the romantic expectations set for them. They must truly love each other and not just long for love. Females are posed to be the objects of the fulfillments of males needs. Even if women try to get away from this they could not free themselves because of what the society imposes. Instead of being compared to men by qualities like diligence and productiveness, they are measured by attractiveness and purity. The story of Beauty, in a way, could also tell mens weaknesses. The father and the beast depended on Beauty for their life. It lifts a womans worth and at the same time, she may not need any rescuing like what was shown on the retelling of Beauty’s story. The Myth of the Half Soul shows women that they have a choice. They could stand up to the standards made for them but may not be prepared for their worth. It does not mean that Romantic Love is not real if we cannot pin down what exactly we long for. Like the characters in the stories, women could be equal to men or could find their own Romantic love if they could understand the source of their love or the basis of their relationship with men.

Review on three articles of visual art

Review on three articles of visual art There are various forms of visual art and these have undergone various forms of developments in the past. These forms of visual art perform various functions to the society. This paper looks at three articles on the development of various forms of visual art and the various perspectives reflected in the articles.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Review on three articles of visual art specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In Modernist Painting, Greenberg addresses the importance of modernism and culture in art. He states that purpose of modernism is to improve a given discipline and in so doing, it should address all aspects of culture (Para. 1 2). He argues that in old days, the people used art â€Å"to conceal art† while â€Å"modernism used art to call attention to art† (Para. 7). The artists in modernism openly acknowledged the limitations that constituted the medium of painting and regarded th em as positive factors while the old masters considered them as negative factors. He also addresses the issue of flatness of the painting surface. He argues that this was the only attribute that pictorial art did not share with other forms of art. As a result, modernist painting committed itself to flatness because it was its only unique attribute. Modernist painting is naturalistic and attached to other forms of art, especially sculpture, and culture. This makes it firmly attached to tradition (Para. 11). Greenberg asserts that modernism is just an evolution of tradition and that modernist painting and art at large is â€Å"carried out in much the same way as before† (Para. 18). It is a continuation from the past without a break making it connected to the past. Alloway Lawrence’s article The Arts and the Mass Media addresses the issues of population growth in relation to art. Increase in population led to increased industrialization thus changing the world. One of the remarkable achievements of the industrial society is the development of mass arts (Para. 5). After World War II, art became highly flexible even though traditional ideas in art persisted (Para. 2). The masses got involved in shaping the state and standards of art as opposed to the small group of elites there before. In this article, Lawrence says, â€Å"mass art is urban and democratic† (Para. 2). He also argues that mass arts are not purely academic, as most critics believe. Instead, they are anti-academic especially in style, technique and iconography (Para. 5). Mass arts reach a large audience and hence affect the culture of this audience. In reality, the mass arts have become part of the culture (Para. 9). Lawrence also argues that the development of mass art is rapid. The rapid change in technology aggravates this rapid growth of mass art.Advertising Looking for critical writing on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Lear n More On the other hand, Leo Steinberg in his article Flatbed Picture plane gives and explanation of the development of Picture painting on surfaces. He uses the word flatbed picture plane to give a description of â€Å"the picture plane of the 1960s – pictorial surface whose angulation with respect to the human posture is the precondition of its changed content† (Para. 1).He explains the transformations the printing surface has undergone from the time of renaissance to the modernist printing. In old times, printings were in upright state. This changed at around 1950. There was a change away from the head to toe correspondence with the human posture (Para. 4). According to Steinberg, â€Å"it is not the physical placement of the image that counts† (Para. 5). He likens the shift of the picture plane from vertical to horizontal as an expression of the shift of the subject matter from nature to culture. He argued that the change in picture plane in post-Mo dernist printing has made art â€Å"non-linear and unpredictable† (Para.19). The three pierces are addressing the changes that have taken place in various forms of visual arts. Each writer tackles a specific form of visual art. Greenberg tackles Modernist painting; Steinberg deals with picture planes while Lawrence handles arts and mass media. They differ in the way they perceive changes to these forms of art in the modernist era. They also differ in the way they view culture and art. The three writers agree that there has been change to the way artists present various forms of visual art. They agree that tradition has played a great role and continue to shape these forms of art (Lawrence, Para. 2; Greenberg, Para. 18; Steinberg, Para. 20). They also agree that these visual arts perform both academic and non-academic functions. Even though Lawrence and Greenberg consider these changes to be positive, Steinberg considers the changes to be negative and disturbing the purity of art (Steinberg, Para. 20). In conclusion, as society changes, the various forms of art also change. The change may be gradual or rapid. Culture has an effect on art and some forms of art, like mass media art, have an influence on culture. Even though art undergoes changes, tradition still plays an important role in the various forms of art. This is because art continues without a break making it always connected to the past. Greenberg, Clement. Modernist Painting. N.d. Web.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Review on three articles of visual art specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Lawrence, Alloway. The Arts and the Mass Media. N.d. Web. Steinberg, Leo. The flatbed picture frame. N.d. Web.

ControversyCollege dorm can have any pets Annotated Bibliography

ControversyCollege dorm can have any pets - Annotated Bibliography Example It appreciates the importance of pets in dorms for some students, describing the adaptation Eckerd College had to make to admit students’ pets. It will contribute to the development of the introduction, particularly describing the types of pets allowed in institutions and in arguing against pets in dorms due to associated lifestyle adaptations. Gahagan, K. â€Å"Pet State: University of Northern Colorado Tests Pet-Friendly Dorm.† Denverpost.com. The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. http://www.denverpost.com/homegarden/ci_26656919/pet-state-university-northern-colorado-tests-pet-friendly This news article reports on the adaptation that the University of Northern Colorado had to undertake to admit students with pets. This follows the acknowledgement of the importance of pets for comfort among students. This came with costs such as liability insurance and capital expenditure on buildings. The data cited provides critical evidence to argue for and against specific pets in college dorms. Palazzolo, J. â€Å"Dorms Must Accept ‘Emotional Support’ Dogs, HUD Says.† The Wall Street Journal 16 May 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/05/16/dorms-must-accept-emotional-support-dogs-hud-says/ This journal gives facts in support of pet dogs in dorms for students with disabilities. The author cites the obligation pegged on universities by the federal government through the US Department of Housing and Urban development for admission of emotional support animals. This will be a useful source in supporting pets that offer affection and companionship in college dorms for alleviation of existing disabilities among students. Steinberg, J. â€Å"Colleges Extend the Welcome Mat to Students’ Pets.† Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 5 June 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/education/06pets.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 This online newspaper article gives statistics, supported by examples, of

Juvenile Crime and Violence in Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Juvenile Crime and Violence in Schools - Essay Example The society suffers on this count nonetheless. The discriminatory policies have been brought to the fore with the ever-increasing firing and sniping cases within these schools and colleges of late. The discrimination basically stems from the fact that teachers and fellow students have shown differential treatment towards the students who hail from world’s varied regions and continents. Then there is the important element of not meeting up to the financial basis of these schools and college and hence the pressure exerted on the students takes it toll in a very negative fashion. This paper takes a keen look at the ways and means through which juvenile crime and violence has been propagated in schools and colleges and discerns the ways and means through which this could be brought to an end. The juvenile crimes and violence within schools and colleges has increased because students have felt frustrated on most of the occasions. They opine that injustice is meted upon them and that they do not feel like a part of the usual school and college realms. The students who receive bad grades and who consistently fail within the school’s educational domains are thus the recipients of such injustice. They eventually succumb to pressure which is exerted upon them by the school authorities. They vent their feelings by being violent, give into the crime angle and thus make their destinies go all wrong. The perspective changes in essence and their thinking mechanisms start to change for the worse. One more aspect that comes to the fore here is that of looking trendy and different on the part of the students. They want to manifest their violent basis and thus need more control over the fellow students in these schools and colleges. What this suggests is the fact that the author ities within the helm of affairs have failed in their efforts to curb the violent regimes in place within these schools and colleges

The right of Refusal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The right of Refusal - Essay Example Patient education is an excellent procedure to try in an effort at discovering why the patient is being uncooperative. The education must be complete enough so that the patient is aware of why the dental x-rays are needed. This will also allow the patient to see that the doctor has his best interest uppermost in his mind. At this point, fear must be addressed in a positive manner. Doctors have a responsibility to make their patients as comfortable as possible with the procedure that they are about to endure. At the same time, the patient must realize that the doctor is well within his rights to refuse to treat the patient if the doctor is unable to obtain satisfactory x-rays. If the patient is in the doctor’s office and must be treated, the doctor should treat the patient as best as he can and then suggest that on his next visit, the patient see another dentist. To treat a patient and not really know what one is treating is negligent on the part of the doctor. Documentation mu st be maintained by the doctor in a permanent patient file in order to protect himself. A letter to the doctor’s lawyer which explains the situation is in order.

The Trouble with Scotland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Trouble with Scotland - Essay Example The background score in this scene, just prior to the "They'll never take our Freedom!" Exhortation while not misplaced in terms of cinematography at that moment the musical choice does not seem to be evocative of the type of emotions that would rouse reluctant men to battle and death. Rather the total quality or we use an emotional tapestry of soothing memory and simple pleasures when one might argue that a harder-edged sound choice might better foreshadow the carnage to come. But one might argue that the message being portrayed by the particulars of the musical undercurrents in this scene being that for untrained men to rise up as one and engage in a peril-fraught, blood-soaked exploit of such deadly danger they require something other than themselves for which they are fighting. Even as Wallaces speech would seem to evoke personal pride within them, to spit in the devil's eyes. Asking them if they would truly trade all of the potential days and years of complacent old age for one chance, just one chance, to defy the great Martial might of England's professional army. Here we have a juxtaposition between the selfless need to fight for something greater, while at the same time asserting a piss&vinegar, devil may care disregard for mortality. The portrayal of the larger war against the British is structured during the film to grant a pivotal role to the French-born princess. (played by Sophie Marceau) integral to this war effort and to the film, on the whole, is the Princess's journey. Her transformation from Royal pawn of perpetually feuding nations bartered away as a living stamp of approval upon a flimsy peace accord between Britain and France - to become a traitorous, adulterous Queen. In the betrayal of her unwilling vows, she discovers the means to become true to herself; her personal journey of becoming.

IT Systems Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

IT Systems Strategy - Essay Example Many organisations continue to invest heavily on information technologies with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of their operations and information systems. However, technology tools alone cannot be used to address discordant organizational information structures. According to Petrides (2004) such technology-focused problem solving strategies may in fact do the opposite, which is to prevent organisations from successfully capitalizing on their use of technology because they tend to overlook organisation-wide symptoms. One major area that the above strategies fail to capture is the information tacitly held by employees that is critical yet rarely documented. Knowledge is universally recognized as the most important strategic asset that an organisation has. The challenge though is that knowledge cannot be managed directly. According to Streatfield and Wilson in Henczel (2000) only the information about the knowledge possessed by people in organisations can be managed. This i s why the need for information auditing becomes critical. Good information management an essential prerequisite to knowledge management. Information audit will therefore be the first step in developing a knowledge management strategy or improving the strategy that Primark Stores Limited may already have to ensure that the organization is managing the knowledge it needs to manage to remain competitive and successful. There is no universally accepted definition of an information audit. According to the Association for Information Management in the UK, an information audit is â€Å"the systematic evaluation of information use, resources and flows, with a verification by reference to both people and existing documents in order to establish the extent to which they are contributing to an organisation’s objectives (Henczel, 2000, p.215)†. With regard to purpose, the information audit process will enable Primark Stores Limited to achieve the following four key functions: (1 ) to identify Primark’s information needs and assign each of these needs their level of strategic importance; (2) to discover and classify the resources and services currently provided to meet Primark’s information needs; (3) to map information flows within Primark and between Primark and its suppliers, buyers and rivals; and (4) to analyse inefficiencies, duplications or gaps and areas of over-provision so as to detect where changes need to be made. By fulfilling these functions, an information audit will enable Primark track and identify each resource and service that supports organizational objectives. The audit will also allow Primark to rate each resource according to its strategic significance. In which case, the information audit could be structured to include an examination of IT tools that can aid effective information management. At the corporate or strategic level, the results of an information audit will provide a knowledge base that can be used for making management decisions about information sources, identify strategic information needs via information needs assessment and can be used as the basis for formulating an organisational information policy. The Financial Director of Primark Stores Limited needs to understand that an information audit reflects the organisation in its entirety and how it works. The process is, preferably, conducted by an independent team so as to

The Trouble with Scotland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Trouble with Scotland - Essay Example The background score in this scene, just prior to the "They'll never take our Freedom!" Exhortation while not misplaced in terms of cinematography at that moment the musical choice does not seem to be evocative of the type of emotions that would rouse reluctant men to battle and death. Rather the total quality or we use an emotional tapestry of soothing memory and simple pleasures when one might argue that a harder-edged sound choice might better foreshadow the carnage to come. But one might argue that the message being portrayed by the particulars of the musical undercurrents in this scene being that for untrained men to rise up as one and engage in a peril-fraught, blood-soaked exploit of such deadly danger they require something other than themselves for which they are fighting. Even as Wallaces speech would seem to evoke personal pride within them, to spit in the devil's eyes. Asking them if they would truly trade all of the potential days and years of complacent old age for one chance, just one chance, to defy the great Martial might of England's professional army. Here we have a juxtaposition between the selfless need to fight for something greater, while at the same time asserting a piss&vinegar, devil may care disregard for mortality. The portrayal of the larger war against the British is structured during the film to grant a pivotal role to the French-born princess. (played by Sophie Marceau) integral to this war effort and to the film, on the whole, is the Princess's journey. Her transformation from Royal pawn of perpetually feuding nations bartered away as a living stamp of approval upon a flimsy peace accord between Britain and France - to become a traitorous, adulterous Queen. In the betrayal of her unwilling vows, she discovers the means to become true to herself; her personal journey of becoming.

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

Business leadership - Essay Example Hence, both leadership and management are complementary in nature (Kotter, 6). What does it mean to say, â€Å"leadership is about change?† and how does the concept of â€Å"alignment† relate to leadership? The phrase â€Å"leadership is about change† signifies not just any type of chance but an alteration in the business environment. When the surroundings change new strategies will be required to match the changing needs. This is ensured by leadership the term â€Å"enabling† can therefore sum up the idea of change in this context (Heifetz, xii). Leadership is all about adapting to the changes, which will require effective communications with the subordinates. â€Å"Aligning† refers to empowering people to carry out tasks and is a problem of communications (Kotter, 10). What is â€Å"emotional hijacking†? Emotions certainly play an important role in leadership. This is most evident in the way two leaders might handle a same situation differe ntly. Temperament is very important and if a leader becomes enraged during communications, its effectiveness is lost.

A frosty rime Essay Example for Free

A frosty rime Essay Early in the book the reader is encouraged to take a negative view of Scrooge through the following type of descriptions And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but he was an excellent man of business on the day of the funeral, this quotation shows that Scrooge is so cold and disrespectful that he would prefer to attend his business than go to his sole friend, and partners funeral. He was supposed to be the sole mourner at Marleys funeral, which makes you pity Marley that no one was mourning his death and despise Scrooge for being so mean and not paying his respects to his dead friend and partner. Dickens paints a picture of Scrooge in your head with a string of rapid adjectives such as a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! This use of negative descriptive language immediately creates an image of him, which makes the reader dislike him. Dickens uses words that relate to cold in his descriptions of scrooge, The cold within him froze, A frosty rime, chill, No wind that blew was bitterer and so on. He uses the word cold to put forward a view of Scrooge as a dark, cold, bitter person, and often reminds us of this by using these words throughout the beginning of the text. In fact between the pages 11 and 13 there are at least 30 words that are associated with the word cold. Most people enjoy Christmas but not Scrooge, whats Christmas but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you. This outburst of bad points about Christmas shocks the reader. How can anyone despise Christmas so much? This makes you question whether he has any emotions at all. We feel even more against Scrooge when he asked why his nephew got married and in reply his nephew answered, Because I fell in love. Then Scrooge replied, as if that were the only one thing in the world more ridiculous than merry Christmas. So for all the romantics out there this is a very cold, heartless thing to say. There is a complete dichotomy between Scrooge and his nephew one a kind, caring, cheerful man the other a cold, greedy, lonely man Scrooge said one of the meanest comments in the book after being asked to give a donation to the poor. He asked whether prisons and workhouses were still open and why the poor werent there. The men answered, Many cant go there; and many would rather die. And Scrooge said spitefully, If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population . At this point we have developed strong negative emotions and thoughts towards Scrooge. Even though the beginning of the story is packed with negative feelings about Scrooge there are some points where you sympathize with him Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come and see me? This partly explains why he has turned out the way he has as he is very lonely. This leads us to reflect on his childhood. He had a very lonely and neglected childhood, A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still. You cant neglect children (this was a serious issue in Victorian Britain) and expect them to grow into caring adults. There are clear parallels between the lonely Christmases of his childhood and Scrooges current lifestyle, solitary as an oyster, thin lips blue. We understand and sympathize with Scrooge when the ghost of Marley haunts him, Marleys ghost is a stereotypical Victorian ghost, rattling chains, wailing etc. Most people would be scared if his or her dead partner and friend came back to them as a ghost. So was Scrooge although he makes out he had no emotions, Scrooge trembled more and more. Marley tried to warn Scrooge not to make the same mistake he did, I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. Yet Scrooge still refuses to listen which shows he is stubborn, I I think Id rather not, But we can understand this, as he is very scared. In stave four we are looking through scrooges eyes at people who are criticising him. We sympathise with Scrooge when the men are discussing the dead man who we assume is Scrooge. We assume this because they imply the person is very stingy even when dead, Its likely to be a very cheap funeral. And that he is rich What has he done with his money. These men are very hypocritical. They are very rich yet they are bickering over Scrooges wealth. These men are mocking and laughing at this dead man and then considering just going to the funeral if food is provided, I dont mind if lunch is provided. This quotation shows that they have no respect for this man and makes us pity him. In the final stave there is a lot of humour behind Scrooge. He has become a kind, giving, joyful man, I am as light as a feather, as happy as an angel, as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. This quotation makes us laugh at Scrooge, but also with him. The reader shifts his emotions and sympathies for Scrooge from disliking him at the beginning of the book, to not being bothered what happens to him towards the middle and finally sympathizing with him by the end.

Aligning Business Strategies and Project Management

Aligning Business Strategies and Project Management Project management has become very important topic all over the world. Literature shows that more than 30 companies fail to accomplish its project with success due to misalignment between business strategies and project management. Many companies face this problem of missing link of business strategies and project management. Alignment is necessary for getting competitive advantage and goals of its business. Top management also play important role in alignment of business strategies and Project management. Keywords: Business strategies, project management, alignment, project portfolio management Introduction: Project management has become very important and also serves as core function in many organizations. Projects are any temporary activities that have starting and finish point, it has performance parameters. Projects face triple constrains (1) time (2) budget and (3) performance. It was assumed that for attainment of organizational goals one has to meet triple constraints of time, budget and performance. Project management plays a vital role in achieving organizational goals and considered as backbone of organization. Project management is knowledge that meets the requirements of projects. Project management plays important role in accomplishing strategies, business goals and desired outcomes. Organizations link their projects with business strategies to achieve the goals and objectives. Strategies are activities that guide and direct the use of the resources to accomplish the organizations vision and goals and sustainable competitive advantage. Mostly these components comprising the strategies of the business like internal analysis, organizational structures, control systems have strong links to project management processes and activities. Project management includes project portfolio management (PPM). PPM is about how organizations controls its projects and align them with business strategies. Many organizations are working on numerous projects and they are conscious to get maximum return of their business. PPM also includes the maximization profit which is main objective of all organization. Basically projects are bases of any organization to build up business strategy and project management relation. When organizations link their projects to their business strategy, they are better able to accomplish their organizational goals. Companies should align their business strategy with the project management action to implement the strategies in the projects. Such alignments are difficult because the objectives of business strategy are sometime not clear and well-communicated with project management. Misalignment may cause an organization to missing goals, communication gap and missing link of business strategy and project management. The lack of alignment of business strategy to the project management leads to the project failure and has adverse effects on organization performance as well. . There is need of systemic approach to align the projects with business strategy. So important in managerial challenges involved that aligning project management and business strategy and encouraging individuals to participate in using emerging strategies to create new ideas and renew existing strategies. Literature indicates that some factors that helps in creating link between business strategy and project management if there is any gap between the bridge of business strategy and project management that should be filled to achieve high returns and competitive advantages. As literature shows that SPL elements such as spirit, strategy, organization, tools and processes that elements should be align between business strategies and project management and in depth understanding of factors that are missing and relationship of these factors with business strategies and project management. Portfolio management play important role in project management and business strategy linking. Implementation of strategies with formulation, receive less attention than formulation so there should be proper emphasis on the implementation as well as. Therefore, this paper examines the linkage between business strategy, project portfolio management, and business success to finish the gap between strategy formulation and implementation and linking them in a bridge. There is seen a lot of importance of project portfolio management in evaluating, prioritizing and selecting projects in line with business strategy. It is choosing the right projects and important part of strategic management in organizations. So there are a few studies exploring single aspects of the linkage between strategies, project portfolio management. Business strategy describes the way in which a firm decides to compete in the market compared to its competitors and close the gap of these strategies with project management. Project Management: Project management has become an important issue for many corporations worldwide. Many implementations of project management have been successful, while others have been considered as failure. Projects in any organization have clearly became a central activity in many companies and considered as a backbone of organization and its success means a lot for an organization to prevail in the competitive arena. A project can be defined as a planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations. Project management is often termed as the science and art of organizing the different project phases which may be launch of new service, a marketing campaign, building a an entire new floor of a building or a wedding. According to Milosevic and Srivannaboon (2006), the essence of project management is to support the execution of an organizations competitive strategy to deliver a desired outcome. Project management is defined as management that supports the execution of an organizations competitive strategy to deliver a desired outcome. Six-step approach can be helpful course that avoids the worst storms: Step 1: Identify the project Step 2: Determine the desired outcome Step 3: Describe each of the projects component tasks Step 4: Identify the key players. Step 5: Determine a time lines for each project component. Step 6: Review, revise and reallocate. Successful initiation of projects and its execution mostly depends upon strategy. Many companies are suffering from misaligned projects and a lack of a systematic approach to align project management with the business strategy. When organizations link their projects to their business strategy, they are better able to accomplish their organizational goals. Project strategy should be related to the projects goals and objectives in order to attain the preferred position in its competitive environment. Business Strategy: Strategy is defined by Patton White (2002) as a comprehensive set of actions or activities, which guide and direct the use of the firms resources to accomplish the organizations vision and goals and enable sustainable competitive advantage. Turning strategy into action to operationalize strategic objectives to achieve competitive advantage includes in the strategic management. Several scholars suggest that the success of project should be considered in the context of the achievement of the strategic goals of the organization (Dietrich Lehtonen, 2005; Kenny, 2006) and that organizations are better able to accomplish their goals when they link their projects to their business strategy. To ensure strategies are translated into actions they should be operational and includes some of the characteristics like structuring an organization to support successful performance and enabling success through the way in which the various resource areas like people, information, Finance, IT, etc. of an organization. Better implementation of strategic plans results in the better performance of sales growth, earnings growth, deposits growth, return on assets, return on equity, return on sales and return on total invested capital than those companies that do not implement their strategic plans. However, in any organization there are different levels of strategies presented by different level of a business which includes Corporate Strategy: It involves high level of strategic decision making and purpose of this strategy is to achieve the expectations of the stakeholders. Business Unit Strategy: The purpose of this strategy is to achieve the competitive advantage for the services and products which are produced and the decisions in this level is concerned with the choice of products, gaining competitive advantage, to meet the needs of the customers and create new opportunities. Operational Strategy: Its concerned with the coordination and improvement of resources which results in the effective and efficient implementation of the business unit level strategy. Implementation of strategies requires actions and completing tasks, and should focus on how to realize these strategies. Implementation must include attention to the following key points: Executing the work requires allocation of resources such as funds, people, and equipment. Organizational resources are limited. Implementation process requires project supportive organizational structure. A project selection and priority system to ensure strong linking between projects and the strategic plan. Managerial challenges involves aligning project management and business strategy which encourages individuals to participate in using emerging strategies to create new ideas and renew existing strategies. There is no such research regarding the framework for aligning project management and business strategy comprehensively. The literature has highlighted that there are many projects which have been executed without implementing the strategies as it has been formulated by executives in the corporations level without the involvement of the project manager. Aligning Business Strategy and Projects: Aligning the companys projects to maximize their contributions to strategic objectives takes a highly coordinated effort. Integration requires a process for prioritizing projects by their contribution to the strategic plan. The organizations to become more competitive, efficient and profitable they will need a business and project management experts working together to attain the business goals. Both, business and project management experts will work towards aligning projects with business strategy. Alignment of business strategy and project management is a major concern for any organization. Such alignments are challenging because the objectives of business strategy are not always clear or well-communicated or consistent with project management actions. Misalignment may cause an organization to miss goals and objectives. Understanding the alignment may be one of the major challenges to effective project management process. Alignment is not a onetime task but it is achieved through p rogression, which demands dominant leadership, top management support, efficient communication, collaborative work environment, trust, proper prioritization, technological setup and comprehensive knowledge about the operations of the business (Luftman, 2000). In order to achieve desired outputs from the selected projects organization should have the ability to build up competencies and then allocate those competences to the preferred projects. To help make sure the corporate projects are aligned to corporate strategy following can be kept in mind: Is the corporation committed to using project management strategically? In most companies, hundreds of projects are underway at any given time so there must be corporate commitment to the art and science of managing projects Is there a policy of formally preparing project charters? Since projects are the means by which corporate strategies are executed, it is critical that they be guided by the original corporate philosophy, strategy, and intent. Project charters are the instrument for doing this. Is there synergy between the business group and those responsible for project implementation? There needs to be early involvement by project implementation people. While this principle may seem sound, the practice of it presents a challenge. First, business planning people may prefer to plan without the help of perceived outsiders. Then, theres a good likelihood that the right project people might not be sitting about just waiting to brainstorm and analyze the early stages of a business proposal. The value for the organization to aligning projects with business strategy in a research by the Athabasca University was conducted in more than 60 organizations around the world and results showed that there were some benefits the organizations which include: Saved money and resources Increased profitability Retained customers Increased market share Prioritizing a project on the bases of its contribution to strategic achievement does not provide guarantee of project success but consistent allocation of resources is also a major task (Hrebiniak, 2006). A key point to make sure the alignment between project management and strategy included as: to carry out the appropriately chosen projects in an efficient ways organizations should make sure that have ability to do deliver the projects and programs. Top management plays a major role in projects alignment. Role of Management: Management is of central importance for the success of projects. Pinto and Slevin (1998) suggested that all the researchers agree that absence of support from management especially top management and by important stakeholder are most important among all other factors. Hacker and Doolen (2007) role of top management was studied in the perspectives of vision of the project and alignment of the scope with business strategy and project sponsorship and its impact on the triple constraint of the project i.e. cost, performance and cost. Researchers various different views about the extent of knowledge of senior managers should be in relation to project management. Some researchers suggest to the technical expertise and knowledge about the projects necessary for senior managers to develop and implement projects. Others felt that determine the line of control and to make available all relevant resources for project managers are the main functions of the senior management. There are different methods of how senior managers can be involved in the project management process. One of the approaches is not to interfere in which the project manager to all the rights of the planning to the implementation of projects. Responsibilities of project managers and executive managers is that project managers are primarily responsible for projects that are being implemented while the executives of the strategic alignment of business functions and projects with the organizations goals. Top managers should possess same skills and expertise as do the project managers Top management must carefully analyze which project should be prioritized in the allocation of resources. Resource allocation is one of the critical parts of the project management. These resources include financial, human and other resources necessary for the successful completion of the projects. Top management should carefully analyze which project should be prioritized in terms of resource allocation. Resources must be allocated to projects that are aligned with corporate strategies of the organization. More simple criteria for prioritizing compliance can be or should do projects should receive the highest priority, then the strategic projects, and then the other. With the start of the training programs, coaching and mentoring for project managers, top management can help build leadership skills, so that they can manage project activities responsibly and effectively. Problems of Alignment: Often projects fail to support business strategies and business goals it is due to the missing link, so that it should be align. Some processes factors that affect the business strategies and projects linking such as communication, top management support, competency of project manager are some of the major factors are the necessary ones to consider which solves or even creates hurdles in the alignment process. Business directors and top management are responsible for the three processes such as business planning, portfolio management and prioritizing projects while the project managers are responsible for the process of planning and executing the projects. Prioritizing projects Portfolio management Business planning Project Project portfolio management, business planning and support of business manager to the project manager while project manager is responsible to handling the projects. Choosing project from the AMCs projects and aligning that project with the business plans and top managers suggestions. When these processes are aligned the strategic elements like goals, objectives, vision, mission, values and norms feeds the portfolio element, the portfolio element feeds the project management element like strategies, organization processes, culture, and the project management element feeds projects and the teams execution of project. But in many cases, these processes are not aligned; as a result, organizations may fail to tie their projects either to their business strategy or to their portfolio, which may cause them to terminate the project or to continue executing projects that do not contribute to the organizations goals, thus wasting important organizational resources. Project Portfolio Management: The project portfolio is defined as a group of projects that compete for scarce resources and are conducted under the sponsorship or management of a particular organization. The three main well-known objectives of portfolio management are, the following: maximizing the value of the portfolio, linking the portfolio to the strategy and the continuous monitoring/assessment of the portfolio. Project portfolio selection is an important management task activity of the organization, the project team should consider all details carefully to enhance performance of organizational assets and customize them with the strategic objectives of the organization, although there are usually several projects available for selection than can be completed within the physical and financial limitations of fixed, so choices must be made to make up a suitable project. Management problems are related to the following factors, selecting, portfolio strategy and appropriate plans. The following reasons can be related with the difficulties on managing, and on selecting, the proper projects to the portfolio a) no relationship between project selection: projects entirely with the organizations strategic goals are not related to the impact on organization performance b) poor quality portfolios: organizations, generally, applicable to underdeveloped ideas for projects selected is not fair quality. To work on the building, d) scarce resources, lack of attention and executive skills, resources properly balance, often causing pressure to multitask ; f) Information overflow and lacking quality of information: Regardless of the quality and sophistication of the portfolio selection and decision tools, it is fundamental to obtain the proper information to make accurate decisions; g) Decision making based in power: Usually the decision is an exercise of power, whi ch means that there may be situations in organizations where decisions tend not to reflect the organizational future success. The portfolio management team is normally concerned and overwhelmed with issues like the prioritization of projects and the continuous distribution of personnel from the different projects to overcome the urgent crises. Although, most of the time, however, there are no resources available and when they were redistributed it often produced negative effects on unexpected places in the project portfolio. Project Selection There are more than one hundred tools and techniques for project portfolio selection hence it is not difficult for organizations to select suitable tools. It is important to adapt or develop an appropriate framework to evaluate project proposals and select a project portfolio which is aligned with the corporate strategy. Recent literature focuses on approaches rather than tools and techniques. Common principles from these approaches can be described as followings: Firstly, they suggest dividing the project proposals into subsets (Englund Graham, 1999; Sommer 1999; Cooper et al., 2001a; Rădulescu1 Rădulescu 2001; and Crawford etal., 2006). Each project subset can be a group of projects which will share the same strategic buck as discussed by Cooper et al (2001a) or different categories of projects which have similar characteristics (Crawford et al., 2005, 2006). This will help the organization easily compare projects by same criteria or same tools and techniques. T his is similarly applicable to ensure the balance of the project portfolio. Framework by Englund Graham (1999) 4 steps producing interrelated outputs make this approach truly systematic. The 4 steps are described as follows: a. What the organization should do: Upon identified to lead the process, the team members start listing newly proposed and on-going projects. They, then, clarify or develop the expected goals of projects, taking into consideration of organizational strategies (vision, mission, objectives) and current as well as potential capabilities (either developed or acquired). It is advisable to classify projects into categories for the benefit of looking at projects from the view of big picture inclusive of out-of- the- box thinking, completeness, gaps, opportunities and compliance with strategy. Projects classified/organized into the strategic buckets (e.g. extent of product change: new- enhancement; and extent of process change: new incremental) enable the team focus efforts on selecting the best set of projects within the categories, which constitute the right and balance mix. In order to facility decision making process, a set of criteria with weight or score reflecting requirements of orga nizational objectives (e.g. market positioning, available capacity, etc.) should be determined, modified and agreed upon for comparison and choices of projects. b. What the organization can do: the team members critically screen and evaluate projects based on consolidation and analysis of current or historical data, as a result certain new projects will be eliminated and ongoing projects will be adjusted or terminated in respect of strategic priorities; availability of resources and technology challenges, etc. The authors describe the critical few with n screen subject to criteria sets agreed upon in step 1 e.g. screen 1- fit to goals; screen 2 market size, competence etc. c. Analyze and decide on projects: based on the comparison between resources available and resources required, projects are analyzed, prioritized and selected. The team should consider opportunity costs, project benefits before costs, return value when making decisions. With the sets of criteria agreed upon in step 1, the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy is recommended. Dedicated resources and contingencies should be committed to ensure the successful implementation of selected projects. Besides, communication loop should be developed and utilized to keep changes updated. d. Implement the plan: staffing and allocating committed resources for implementation selected projects. A database should be created for monitoring, reporting and sharing. The plan is used as a communication tool to help management team and those who are involved quickly respond to change and take corrective actions in terms of identifying new opportunities and leveraging resources. It can be interpreted that completion of the first 3 steps in this process reflects the achievement of the three goals determined in the project portfolio selection by Cooper (2005): step 1 with should representing project portfolio in alignment with strategy; step 2 with can representing portfolio value maximization using most effectively its resource and capability; step 3 analyze and decide representing right balance and mix of projects; and step 4 with implement belonging to the next phase of execution and management in project portfolio management. The 4 steps reveal a loop of continuous stages, which is recognized as systematic approach. Challenges in Project Portfolio Selection Organizations face many problems such as lack of information, unreliable data of cost, time to completion, availabilities of resource, and benefits of projects. Project proposals are randomly arriving, not at one time. This requires the model or process to be flexible so that organizations can select projects without waiting until annual planning meetings. In large organizations with many business units, each business unit has its own list of priority and preferences. Besides, project portfolio selection is not always rational but it is biased by human being factor such as lobbying. People resist when there is absence of strategy or vague strategy or they find difficulties in pursuing the strategies. Changes necessary for the aligning the projects with the strategy might win approval of all the members of the organization, but when it comes to implementation, no one will be ready to take the lead. Ten Reasons why Strategy Implementation Efforts Can Fail: 1. The so-called strategic plan is nothing more than a collection of budgets and vague directions that do not provide clear guidelines for action. 2. The strategy does not correspond to market realities because it has been developed by strategic planners with no grass roots input. 3. The strategy does not enjoy support from and commitment by the majority of employees and middle management because they do not feel consulted in the development of the strategy. 4. Middle management does not think the strategy is the right one, or does not feel it has the requisite skills to implement it, so it sabotages the implementation. 5. Insufficient top management time is spent on communicating about, selling the new strategic direction, and managing the organizational changes involved. 6. No provision is made for developing the new skills and competencies required by the employees successfully to make the transition and operate within the new strategic direction. 7. No provision is made for instituting the appropriate organizational systems for the selection, motivation and reward of people in accordance with the new strategy. 8. No provision is made for creating a close fit or coherence between the business-level strategy and the various functional-level strategies that can operationalize it. 9. There are factions in the organization which disagree with the strategy because if implemented it would reduce their power and influence, so they sabotage it by deliberate actions or inactions. 10. No attempt is made to analyze the culture of the organization and identify Literature review examines four selected models that assist organizations in bridging the gap between organizational strategic objectives and project management: Model #1 Model of strategic project management is comprised of four main aspects of higher-level project management practices: 1. Strategic alignment of project: This practice refers to the extent to which an organization ensures that the projects it pursues are directly tied to the organizational strategy. This is very important in terms to see whether the project going to start is intact with the strategies of the organization for its successful implementation. 2. Project portfolio management. This practice refers to the identification of a project investment categorization scheme to assist the organization with prioritizing projects. Project portfolio management forms one of the building blocks in relating projects to strategy and can be considered as a key driver for aligning projects or programs to organizational objectives. It also helps in prioritizing and in the selection process of a project for its successful alignment. 3. Program management. The Project Management Institute (2004) defines the concept of program management as the centralized coordinated management of groups of projects to achieve the programs strategic objectives and benefits. Program management practices are inherent within the pursuit of strategic project management and are demonstrated as the management of groups of projects and the management of interactions between projects (portfolio coordination). 4. The business results of projects. Since projects are financial investments, organizations should estimate and measure project impacts on organizations from a business results perspective which may include return on investment, sales growth etc. Model #2: Project managers contribute to competitive advantage due to their skills in managing relationships and an organizational willingness to foster these skills and leverage them throughout the organization, and learn from them how to manage people and relationships across organizational functions and boundaries. Greens model of strategic project management is based on the constructs of competitive advantage, strategic capabilities and tacit knowledge management. Model #3: Model suggests that adopting strategic project management to select, manage and support multiple projects gives companies the best chance of moving the organization forward by keeping the company vibrant in the marketplace and returning maximum value for shareholders. Further, it identifies the following key characteristics of strategic project management: 1. Alignment of the following key business processes: strategic planning, strategic goal setting, and enterprise project management 2. Functions as a well-managed portfolio of investments as it: (a) allows for the most effective use of constrained resources; (b) ensures a high return on investment since projects are managed collectively; (c) it maintains alignment between the projects and the organizations short, medium and long term goals 3. A new management process embedded between strategic planning and project execution that manages project investments strategically and combines business planning and management with project management best practices Model #4: The term strategic project management as the management of those projects which are of critical importance to enable the organization as a whole to have competitive advantage There is a gap between aligning project management competencies to the selection of projects that will give organizations a competitive edge. Specifically, strategy is formulated at the senior management level and for it to be implemented; it should be broken down into discrete projects. Project management becomes a source of competitive advantage when an organization outperforms other companies through the experience and knowledge built up over time through managing projects. Also, project management yields competitive advantage through the actual selection and prioritization of projects that organizations engage in and secondly, through implementation and execution of the projects. Furthermore, project portfolio management is essential and the prioritization of projects should be based

Abortion as an Ethical Issue Essay -- Papers Morals Abortion Pregnancy

Abortion as an Ethical Issue In recent years, abortion has become one of the world’s most discussed ethical issues. This has made a huge impact on both men and women’s lives. There are many different views on abortion dating back from the Old Testament to the present day. I intend to show you all of abortion’s conventional arguments. I hope to establish few of these views;  · The Christian views on abortion  · Views that support and oppose abortion  · My personal opinions on the subject of abortion My coursework will include different factors to use in discussion including a definition of abortion, Biblical quotes and references, issues of rape and incest. The following questions (below) on the subject of abortion will be answered in this coursework: a. (i) What is meant by ‘abortion’? (ii) What Biblical and Church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion? b. Explain how Christians might put their beliefs about Abortion into action. c. ‘Abortion is never justified’ – Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answers and show that you have thought about different point of views. You must refer to Christianity in your answer. August 2003 Ramin Rouhani What is meant by the word ‘abortion’? The definition of abortion by law is the premature expulsion of a human foetus from the womb. There is more than one type of abortion, spontaneous and induced. Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage is naturally occurring termination of a pregnancy causes inside the mother’s womb. Induced abortion is when the foetus is terminated from the mother’s womb surgically or medically. T... ...cerned is wanted or handicapped, it follows that the destruction of unborn life is always wrong.† LIFE Campaign The Humanists agree that everyone has the right to freedom of choice, because opinions are different of when the life of a foetus begins, the minority that is Catholic Church has no right to impose it’s view on others. An open society must respect the rights of the people for the choice of their future, so religious views should not be forced upon the people who do not choose to listen. Every human has the right to want to be a wanted child. Induced abortion brings a solution to the future of unwanted children being born every year. No child deserves to be unwanted or unloved because of poor education and a lack of contraception, which is what would happen if abortion could not be justified.