Defining concept of design thinking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Defining concept of design thinking - Assignment Example 1). It permits people who are not trained as designers as well to utilise creative tools in order to cope with the fast range of growing challenges. Design thinking is basically a human process, which taps into people’s skills, but it is normally ignored by more traditional problem-solving method (Hunter 2015, p. 1). Design thinking depends on people’s ability to be intuitive, identify patterns, develop ideas, which are meaningful and functional, and communicate well through methods past symbols and words. No one wants to run a company of intuition, feelings and inspiration, but an over-dependence on the analytical and rational can be just as dangerous (Polsani 2010, p. 1). This is where design thinking comes in – to offer an integrated third way (Hunter 2015, p. 1). Keeping in line with that, this paper will complete a thoroughly researched essay that defines the concept of design thinking. It will explain how each and every example is linked in some way and als o discuss examples of design thinking in a real business world. Today’s organisations go through multifaceted problems and issues, which are basically part of more and more complex business models. Constant expansions of worldwide transactions, supported through partnerships, which can span huegeecosystems, create both unique challenges and unique opportunities for businesses and organisations (Polsani 2010, p. 1). The process of design thinking is best considered as a system of overlapping spaces instead of a chain of orderly steps. There are three key spaces to bear in kind including ideation, inspiration and implementation (Hunter 2015, p. 1). Inspiration is the opportunity or problem, which motivates people to look for answers or solutions. Ideation, on the other hand, refers to the process of collecting, developing and analysing ideas. And, finally, implementation is the route that leads from the

The Process of Planning a Party Research Proposal

The Process of Planning a Party - Research Proposal Example As a college student, my personal experience on holding party was a few days after I had received my results of passing to the next level and academic year. This greatly motivated me to hold a house party in order to celebrate this achievement. After deciding on a location that was outdoor within our compound, I felt it was the right idea to make a list of people who will be attending my bash. This list included mostly my colleagues though my relatives and family members were also included. I also allowed everyone to bring with them a friend if they were single not forgetting to caution them about respect for the party. This was because the party had even my family members and relatives present. With the friends of the invited guests present, I was very sure the party will be extremely lively. I thereafter filled my invitations and got them in my mail. Hand delivery was an alternative for the friends and relatives I failed to reach through the mail. This was done earlier before the e vent in order to get down to my party details. My party, of course, had a guest of honor that was my dad. This was my suggestion for it gave us an opportunity as college students to get advice from this wise man. The date I had set was on a Friday. This was a holiday hence, most people were free during the daytime. My preparation for the day was short and I had to advise my mum on how to go about my party. It is always a good idea to get with someone close to you for a bit of advice on how to decorate, type of food to eat and on the positive and negative impacts of holding a party. Advice is vital while planning for a party for if you get wrong advice then the whole party is prone to be ruined (Ideas & Liz 23). The decision on the budget should be within the range that is not very expensive and not very cheap as well. The questions I asked myself included the amount I wanted to spend which made me budget while putting into consideration the amount of money I had set aside for my par ty. The food combination was so simple and it consisted of drinks plus a few snacks. This is because the party was during the day and most of my guests were to leave by evening hours thus there was no need for heavy meals. When it comes to music, there is no lively party without music. This sets the mood as well as the tone of the party. The music genre included techno music, pop music, and some cool afro-fusion music, which every guest seemed to be greatly impressed with. Some party games were also set up. Routine dance as one of my best party game made everyone very happy. Lastly, the party had various ways and use of the cautions and warnings and the guests as they were all college students had to seek their parents’ permission in order to attend my party. Seeking permission should not only be applied to the person holding the party but even the guests in my case for we are teens and could end up messing up at the party.

Investigating Financial Control Essay Example for Free

Investigating Financial Control Essay Task one The three different types of costs are fixed cost, variable cost and total cost. For all of the diverse types of costs there are also dissimilar calculations to work out each type of revenue. Fixed cost does not change no matter how much they produce, even if the business produces 1 or 1,000,000,000 it will always stay the same. Examples of fixed costs are rent, salaries, rates and loan payments. Variable cost change with the level of production. In order to work out the total variable cost you have to times together the quantity and the variable cost. Also, to determine the total cost you have to add the fixed cost and the variable cost. The meaning of Start up cost is the money you need to start up the business. Running cost always varies because of the level of stock changes and you have to pay for workers. In the case of Kiren and Zaiba, salaries are used as a fixed cost because they don’t change with the level of output. Heating and lighting are used as a variable cost because the variable cost change with the level of production. The sum: Fixed cost + variable cost = total cost which is 6,000 in the scenario. The definitions for the following words are: Profit What is left when all costs incurred in making and selling a product are deducted from the revenue gained from that sale. It acts as the reward to the entrepreneur, usually the owner of the business, who has provided the capital. It is usually the net profit after tax which represents the surplus for the owners of the business and is paid as a dividend to shareholders. Profit maximization is seen as one of the major objectives of a business, although it is more likely to be an objective for the investors in a business, than for its managers or employees. It might be for those groups that profit acts as a constraint, while higher sales orhigher wages and salaries are more important objectives Net profit: This is the amount of sales revenue that a business earns less all the costs involved in achieving that revenue, including both direct costs and expenses. The net profit figure represents the figure for profit before taxation or a dividend are further deducted, and shows how successful a business has been in generating profits from its trading activities. Gross profit The figure obtained on the profit and loss account when the cost of goods sold is deducted from the sales revenue of a business, but it does not take into account any of the expenses of running a business such as wages, distribution costs or administration costs. Fixed cost Variable cost Total cost Rent  £800 Heating and lighting  £200 Salaries  £1400 Advertising  £50 Insurance  £210 Administration  £50 Rates  £150 400 CD’s  £2800 Loan repayments  £290 Telephone  £50  £2850  £3150  £6000 Task 2 Kiran Zaiba analysis: In task two I used excel to work out the break even point, at diverse costs. The fixed costs were the same because I only have done break even for one month. The quantity is going up in one hundreds. I calculated the variable cost by multiplying the quantity by 6 which came out to be going up in six hundreds. I calculated the total cost by adding the fixed cost by the variable cost; in this case it was increasing by six hundred. To calculate the sales revenue, I had to multiple the quantities by 12, which was increasing by 1200. To calculate profit or loss, I subtract sales revenue from total cost. According to the information on my table Kiran zaiba have to sell 1000 CD’s to break even. Break even is when the cost is 6000 and the quantity is 6. In the following table I have changed the fixed cost to 6950 because the following values increased: the rate increased to  £300 also, the telephone increased to  £100, advertising to  £125 and the lighting and heating increased to  £425. Using the contributing method I will calculate the following data to achieve how much CD’s will be needed to break even. In order to do this I will have to use the following equation 6950 divided by 6. The sum equals 1158. So they will have to sell 1158 to break even. This means that they will have to increase sales. Advantages of break even analysis Disadvantages of break even analysis Break even can be used to predict profit It price suddenly changed it wouldn’t take it in Break even can be used to determine financial needs For example, If petrol prices go up the break even will not show the increase. Keep track of profits and losses. It is a forecast which means that the data is predicted. Gives you ideas for selling prices (if you made a lot of money at that period of time). It helps to calculate profits Helps to make decisions on prices I think that break even is very useful because: It assists you to figure out your profit Helps you by giving you assumptions of prices It is extremely significant in that if you are taking into consideration to applying for a loan. Gives you a clear impression of prices TASK 3 Analysis for cash flow forecast I will now construct the cash flow forecast I have now prepared an annual cash flow forecast using monthly data I have also included the loan in January. The table looks like this for a regular cash flow forecast: image00.png The sales become irregular due to an immense amplify in downloading and sharing music. The irregular cash flow forecast should look like this: image01.png Cash flow forecast is extremely significant and has many uses. For example, it helps the bank manager to keep up to date; it helps managers to plan ahead and it also determines if there is a problem with the cash flow by resolving the difficulty. Regular cash flow shows: That there is not a problem with the cash flow because the opening bank balance is always increasing, so the profit is rising. The main objective for a cash flow forecast is to see whether there is a profit or loss. Currently, I have identified that with the regular cash flow there is not a problem because all the numbers are increasing, meaning that a profit has been achieved. Irregular cash flow forecast shows that: The opening bank balance starts with zero; it then rises immensely in February to 11300. Then it starts to decrease steeply all the way to December, leaving the opening bank balance drawn to a close with -37470. This is bad for the business because now they are not making a profit The total cash inflows, starts of with 18000 in January. Then it starts to reduce in each and every month, until it comes to December where it increases to 2700 from November. This is consequently leading them to a loss. The total cash outflows contrast from low to high in that, in January it is 6700 and then increases enormously to 9500 in December. The Implication of the problem is that there is an increase in people who tend to download and share music. This will inevitably affect their sales. This will also consequently make Kiran and Zaiba fall to lose a profit. Because of this problem Kiran and Zaiba are making a loss of  £43,920. The implication to the problem is that, In order to reject the lost, I recommend that The other way around this is to increase the number of quantities, in order to sell more and increase profit. Or, lower maintenance costs and launching a download website so you can attract costumers worldwide. Task 4 The documents which Kiran and Zaiba will need to sequence sales and purchasing from order to receipt of goods are: Issues by the purchaserIssued by the seller Delivery note- accompanies the goods. Is signed by purchaser as proof of delivery. Sales invoice- gives full details of goods, prices, discounts, VAT Credit note- issued if goods are returned or to adjust any over- charges on the invoice. Statement of account- summarises all transactions and states balance owning. Remittance advice – summarises the account for return with cheque payment Cash receipt- issued to confirm cash payment has been received Purchase order- lists items required and price for each. Goods received note- lists items received. Purchaser tells seller if any shortages or damage Cheque or electronic transfer- to pay balance on statement I am now going to describe the manual and electronic ways of recording financial transaction that Kiran and Zaiba could use: Predominantly, most Kiran and Zaiba’s transactions are mostly recorded electronically because they are developed either by an electronic cash register or by computer. The advantage of recording transaction for Kiran and Zaiba indicate that any linked documents are printed mechanically. Kiran and Zaiba may want to take the alternative route by considering keeping manual records which are then kept by businesses that would not find it valuable to buy a cash register or use a computer system. Even people who receive payments in a customer’s home- such as service engineers- are now more likely to record the transaction on a laptop than carry a receipt book with them. Kiran and Zaiba want and need to prevent fraud because they are a minute business. To terminate these frauds they will have to have: A thoughtful staff selection which are trustworthy to procedure which includes character references. A â€Å"whistle- blowing† scheme where workers are compensated for reporting fraud. The system should guarantee that information is treated confidentially. An unambiguous policy on dealing with fraud. Scam is usually considered to be â€Å"gross misconduct† (which means disgusting bad behaviour) for which workers can be fired instantaneously as part of the disciplinary procedure. Task 5 The strengths of a cash flow forecast are that: It helps the bank manger to keep up to date It records how much money you have It gives you ideas to plan ahead Demonstrates how much money you have at the present time The forecasts of sales and cash flow, and hence crucial abundance of profit, will be vital on which the prospective bankers will assess the upcoming feasibility of the business. It follows that these forecasts will come under crucial inspection and significant judgement. The importance of cash inflows is so you distinguish how much value of money is going towards the inside of a businesses bank account at a particular time. An example for this could be: the income Kiran and Zaiba make for selling CD’s. The strengths of break even are: It helps you see where you have an increase or decrease in your profit. Keeps you informed Break even engrosses discovering what would occur if there were changes to cost of revenues. The types of questions the boss would ask are: Is it possible for Kiran and Zaiba to increase sales by 5% and still make a profit even if sales fall? If by reducing sales by 10% will this effect Kiran and Zaiba? Say if Kiran and Zaiba shift of to an inexpensive property, how would this affect our profits? There is many different ways in which, to record this information. For instance, Manual recording principally used by businesses that, tend not sense that it is advisable to buy a cash register or computer. (For example, If Kiran and Zaiba don’t sell as much CD’s then, they may find it simpler to record these manually). Also, there is an alternative route which is, to record by electronically, which means that associated documents are printed mechanically. This could be beneficial if Kiran and Zaiba are selling lots of CD’s. Cash flow indicates the amount of money received and spent over time. This is significant in that, you will then be aware of how much income is in the bank. If Kiran and Zaiba have an enormous demand they can amplify there sales because there are not adequate CD’s. They could charge more which is better for the business because they are making more profit. But if there is too much CD’s then they could reduce prices to sell more, thus allowing them to make profits. Just to add, the main objective for any business is to make a profit. So, Kiran and Zaiba will want to do so. To do this, Kiran and Zaiba may want to take this into consideration that they may want to reduce their sales in order to sell more and to attract more costumers.

Life of Pi write-up Essay Example for Free

Life of Pi write-up Essay Life of Pi shows that we are entering a virtual age as Pi, a selfish murderer, is portrayed as a hero throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, Pi is portrayed as a smart, virtuous man – there is an emphasis on his strong faith in God, his love for his family and his knowledge of animals. However, later in the movie, Pi brutally murders a hyena after his family’s ship sank and manipulates the tiger that he was left with to do whatever he pleases. Although Pi faced anxiety because he was alone on a lifeboat with a tiger and with despair from thinking that he would die, these circumstances are not to blame for Pi’s awful behavior. Pi has the freedom to make his own decisions and is able to express his emotions in whichever way he wants, making him fully responsible for the course of his actions. Once Pi is rescued, the whole world starts to see him as a hero for his survival, however they do not process all of his wrongdoings. To make matters worse, the journalists that Pi spoke with after he was rescued do not even use the first story that he shares with them – the one involving human beings – because they claimed it was too gruesome, bringing Pi to replace human beings with animals in his second story. This also represents a virtual age because it sends the idea that wrongful actions are okay when they are presented using animals rather than human beings – truly showing the selfishness and carelessness of society. In conclusion, Pi’s inhumane actions are not acknowledged by the public, and furthermore Pi is being rewarded for his wrongdoings. In Life of Pi, storyteller Pi Patel explains the firsthand account of his adventures. When his family’s zoo business fails in India, they embark on a sea voyage to begin a new life – however, one night aboard their ship in the middle of the ocean, a deadly storm hits, leaving Pi trapped in a lifeboat with several zoo animals. After several brutal incidents, including Pi murdering a hyena, Pi is then left to fend for himself in the company of a Bengal tiger. At the end of the movie, when Pi is rescued and questioned by journalists, he tells them two different stories about his journey: one involving human beings and one involving animals, leaving the journalists to publish the story involving animals. Kierkegaard’s philosophy relates to this story because even though Pi is very religious, he is aware that he is free to put his wellbeing before God. While being stuck on a lifeboat with vicious animals, Pi does whatever he can in order to survive – even if that involves taking part in murder and manipulation. Pi chooses to murder a hyena because this animal killed his mother and would eventually kill him, as well as Pi chooses to hunt fish in order for the tiger to survive and to save himself from being eaten. Pi also had to state dominance and mark his territory in the lifeboat, in order to prevent the tiger from hurting him. Pi is therefore the perfect example of putting the individual before God in Kierkegaard’s philosophy because he believes in God, yet he continues to live his own life with freedom as he makes rational decisions. Pi is also aware of the aggressiveness in his decisions, and continuously apologizes to God for all that he has done. By doing this, Pi gains strength and heals through God, as this is also a part of Kierkegaard’s philosophy.

Truman Doctrine And The Marshall Plan History Essay

Truman Doctrine And The Marshall Plan History Essay On the eve of their victory in World War Two, the leaders of the so-called Big Three nations (Winston Churchill from Britain, Joseph Stalin, from the Soviet Union, and Franklin Roosevelt from the United States) met to negotiate the post-war administration of the vast European territories liberated from Nazi occupation and the captured territories of the Axis nations themselves. The two meetings at Potsdam and Yalta were actually the second and third (respectively) following the first of the Big Three meetings at Teheran in 1943. At the time of the final meeting at Yalta, all three leaders expressed genuine optimism that a peaceful and fair collaboration that had begun of necessity in their combined effort to defeat Hitler could last beyond the war years and into a prolonged period of international peace thereafter (Alterman, 2004). However, there were fundamental conflicting interests and concerns that had begun to develop even before the conclusion of the war. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had already begun to view one another as rivals in Europe, both for territory captured from the Germans as well as for the technological spoils of war, such as German aviation and ballistic rocket technology in particular (Roberts, 2000). During the last year of the war, the Western Allies had feared that Stalin would continue his advance well into central and western Europe and all the way to the Mediterranean (Alterman, 2004). To a large degree, those fears were unfounded as Soviet troops halted after occupying the Baltic States and territories in Germany, Poland and the Balkans (Alterman, 2004). Nevertheless, the Soviet Union did also exert continual pressure elsewhere, particularly in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and Turkey. When Britain could no longer afford to support the needs of Greece and Turkey, the U.S. stepped up and in 1947, announced a broad approach to providing economic support to those regions (and others believed by the Truman administration to be potentially at risk of Soviet domination) economically in what came to be referred to as the Truman Doctrine (Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon,). That same year, U.S. Secretary of State, General George C. Marshall, introduced an even broader approach, that came to be called the Marshall Plan which included all of the mechanism outlined in the Truman Doctrine, in addition to a comprehensive fight against hunger, desperation, poverty, and chaos and whose aims included the revival of a working economy across the European continent but also in all the nations of the world ( Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon,). In fact, the principal motivation for this plan was a policy analysis authored by George C. Kennan, counselor in the U.S. embassy in Moscow entitled The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Roberts, 2000). That analysis led directly to the adoption of a containment policy by the Truman administration (and subsequent U.S. presidential administrations designed expressly to oppose perceive Soviet expansionist aims everywhere in the world (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Roberts, 2000). Throughout the Cold War, the official position of the U.S. was that its policies with respect to the U.S.S.R. were strictly defensive and designed, of absolute necessity, to prevent the global domination sought by Soviet Communist leaders (Alterman, 2004; Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon, ; McNamara, 1995). In truth, the U.S. policies to oppose Soviet Communist expansion and the imposition of Communism beyond Soviet borders were not unfairly viewed by the U.S.S.R. as an expansionist attempt to export and impose Western Democracy beyond U.S. borders. The Deterioration of Relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. after 1945 Even before the end of World War II, the provisions of the February 1945 Yalta Conference set in motion conflicting priorities and zones of occupation that helped trigger the eventual deterioration of the wartime alliance between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Specifically, the agreement left Britain, France, and the United States in charge of Western Germany, Italy, and Japan while the Soviets controlled Eastern Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. By comparison, the territory controlled by the Western Allies was much more valuable in terms of its economic potential than that held by the Soviet Union. The same was largely true in connection with the relative economic potential of Western and Eastern Germany. Under the terms of the Yalta Agreement, the Western Allies administered what later became West Germany and the U.S.S.R. controlled what later became East Germany. Even the capital city of Berlin was divided into zones o f occupation; within a few years, the geographical layout of Berlin and the shared occupation between the Western Allies and the U.S.S.R. would trigger a prolonged crisis as well (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Although perceived by the West as being stubborn and acting out of a specific motivation to dominate Europe, Stalin expressed genuine confusion over the inability or unwillingness of the Western Allies to appreciate the importance of Eastern Europe from the Soviet perspective, particularly with respect to Poland (Alterman, 2004; Judge Langdon, ). Recent and not so recent history demonstrated full well the vulnerability of the Soviet Union to hostile invasion through Poland. Moreover, Stalins liberation of Poland from the Nazis had cost the Soviet Union as many as 20 million dead, making it the costliest war campaign in the entire history of warfare, by far. From the Russian point of view, Poland should rightfully have remained under Russian control for those two specific reasons alone (Alterman, 2004; Judge Langdon, ). In other respects, the Western Allies may have been right to question Stalins motives. During the war, both Churchill and Stalin had sent troops to occupy portions of Iran to prevent their rich oil fields from falling into the hands of the Nazis (Alterman, 2004; Roberts, 2000). Already at Yalta, Stalin had begun demanding oil concessions as a condition of removing Russian troops from Iran. Likewise, Stalin had insisted that Turkey permit the Russian Navy permanent unrestricted passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles. Stalin yielded on both accounts only after the U.S. expressed its intentions to back Iran and after the U.S. sent its own Naval warships to the region. Nevertheless, U.S. foreign policy thereafter would reflect the growing fears over such incidents that Stalin expressly intended to capitalize on any perceived weakness on the part of the West to oppose Communist grabs for global territories and resources (Roberts, 2000). The Importance of Kennans The Sources of Soviet Conduct In 1946, the U.S. State Department received a very long telegram from George C. Kennan, counselor in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, detailing his analysis of what he called The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Among other conclusions, Kennan wrote that the Soviet Union was eternally committed to global expansionism and to the spread of Communist ideology at all costs. Kennan warned that the Soviet Union would never stop probing non-Communist societies for weaknesses and that the Western democracies had no other choice but to remain vigilante in their opposition to Communism lest is spread throughout the entire world to the extent efforts toward that end were not opposed appropriately by the West (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Kennan concluded that what would be necessary and appropriate to prevent Communist expansionism from dominating the word would be a comprehensive policy of global containment of any efforts toward that end by the Western democracies (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). At approximately the same time, also in 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his infamous Iron Curtain speech in which he warned of the same danger with respect to the European continent and advocated a strong opposition on the part of the Western democracies. (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000; Westad, ). In principle, this containment strategy would be adopted by the West, most immediately in the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The Truman Doctrine By 1947, Greece was in the midst of internal warfare between the government and Communist rebels (Alter, 2004; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Roberts, 2000). Britain had been funding the counterrevolutionaries but eventually announced that it could no longer do so for economic reasons. The U.S. administration argued to Congress (and to the American people) that the fall of Greece to Communism would lead inevitably to the subsequent fall of Italy, France, and the entire Middle East to Communism as well (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Truman succeeded in obtaining congressional authorization for $400 million to fund anti-Communist rebels in both Greece and Turkey as well. This was the first implementation of what came be known as the Truman Doctrine, according to which It must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pres sures. Truman went on to say that this support from the U.S. should be primarily through economic and financial aid, which is essential to economic stability and orderly political process (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Officially, the Truman Doctrine focused on economic assistance to the needy populations of the struggling nations; unofficially, the real purpose of the Truman Doctrine was to fund anti-Communist forces and virtually any related effort to undermine Soviet attempts to spread Communism anywhere in the world. While being promoted primarily as a humanitarian gesture, the principal purpose of the Truman Doctrine and the reason for its existence was to oppose Soviet Communism (Gaddis, 1997). To be fair, there were reasons that the West was right to be so concerned about Soviet Communist expansion but there were also reasons that, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the West in general and the U.S. in particular overreacted in implementing the Truman Doctrine. The Western Allies had only recently learned a very difficult lesson after failing to respond appropriately to the rise of Nazism throughout the 1930s and to the expansionist aggression demonstrated by Hitler for years before the outbreak of World War II. Undoubtedly, that was foremost on the minds of Churchill and Truman and everyone else in foreign policy-making positions in the post-war era (Alterman, 2004; Roberts, 2000). The Soviets were hardly innocent either. In addition to the attempted exertion of influence in Iran over the removal of their troops and over control over shipping lanes in the Dardanelles, they also aggressively supported Communist revolutions anywhere they could in Eastern Europe, particular ly in Bulgaria and Romania in connection with Communist takeovers and in Poland by helping to eliminate the last source of political opposition to Communism (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). On the other hand, and again, in retrospect with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the Western Democracies were also somewhat blind to apparent signs of Soviet restraint and concessions to the West. After initially insisting on shared control over defeated Japan, the Soviet Union eventually accepted exclusive American control over that nation (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Likewise, they withdrew their troops from Manchuria, allowed free elections in Hungary and Czechoslovakia and a neutral democratic Finnish government, and they also withdrew significant numbers of their forces that had been assembled in Eastern Europe since the end of the War (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). It may be unfair to re-evaluate tensions of the time with the benefit of historical records available today (including those pertaining to Stalin that only became available after the collapse of Communist Russia). However, objectively, and with the benefit of hindsight, it would seem that a more measured and objective response on the part of the U.S. and her allies in the post-war years other than the full implementation of the Truman Doctrine might have allowed for a much less costly and potentially dangerous outcome than a four-decade-long Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Marshall Plan One of the major initiatives implemented within the general framework of the Truman Doctrine was General George C. Marshalls European Recovery Plan, which quickly became known as the Marshall Plan (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). In principle, the Marshall Plan aimed to do the same thing (i.e. contain Soviet Communism from global expansion) although through incentivizing cooperation and conciliation on the part of foreign nations in return for U.S. economic assistance. It was, in essence, a tremendous carrot instead of a stick-based approach to encouraging foreign nations to implement democratic governments and to reject Communist overtures (Roberts, 2000). The U.S. even invited the Soviet Union to participate but they refused, believing (probably correctly, given the overall objective of the Truman Doctrine) that the terms in connection with which Soviet participation was being welcomed would have undermined Soviet control over the Eastern European countries under Soviet influence (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ). Two years later, the Soviet Union would create Comecon, their own plan for an Eastern European Mutual Economic Assistance organization. The Marshall Plan was an unparalleled success in Western Europe: it facilitated infrastructure recovery in war-torn countries; it enabled economic growth while simultaneously reducing class conflict. More importantly, from the U.S. perspective, it established an economic dependency for U.S. goods and industrial machinery and for the U.S. goods, services, and labor to support it (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Certainly, the Marshall Plan was a more humane approach to expanding U.S. influence and discouraging Communist tendencies among Western European populations than the Soviet Union had employed in Eastern Europe. However, its fundamental purpose was much more similar. Moreover, the U.S. was guilty of the same degree of meddling in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations as was the Soviet Union, albeit through much more peaceful means that relied upon the carrot rather than the stick. Nevertheless, from the point of view of exporting its own political ideology to other nations, the U.S. was actually engaged in the same business as the Communists that the West continually portrayed as expansionist (Hunt, 1987; LeFeber, 1994; McDougall, 1997). For example, because of the dependence of Italy on American foreign economic aid and supplies of goods and services, the U.S. was able to convince the Christian Democrats to oust the Communist Party out of it governing coalition. In fact, General Marshall personally warned the Italians that continued economic aide was directly dependent on the Communists not succeeding in the elections of 1948. At the same time, the U.S. State Department recruited Italian relatives in the U.S. and Italian-American organizations in the U.S. to influence Italian political outcomes as much as possible (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; LeFeber, 1994; Hunt, 1987; McDougall, 1997). Ultimately, the U.S. cannot claim to have meddled or micromanaged Western European political affairs any less than their Communist counterparts in Moscow. While there is a strong argument that the methods chosen by Moscow were less humane, it would be a fiction to suggest that the Soviet Union exported Communism and was expansionist while the U.S. merely supported political self-determination and opposed the imposition of political ideology from abroad. Certainly, from the Soviet perspective, Washington was engaged in very similar processes that differed much more in their means than in what they hoped to achieve. Moreover, whereas the U.S. had the choice between brutality and economic pressure and incentivization, the U.S.S.R. had no such choice, at least not that could have competed against the economic and industrial strength of the U.S. Conclusion Throughout the Cold War, the predominant view in the Western hemisphere was that the Soviet Union was continually engaged in an aggressive campaign to export Communism while the West, led by the U.S. was merely resisting that expansion by supporting the freedom and self-determination of those nations that would otherwise have been at the mercy of Communist takeover. In reality, the U.S. was no less aggressive in exporting Democracy, although it had the economic means to do so much more gently and humanely, and by inviting membership in their democratic vision rather than by coercion and brutality. However, in terms of precipitating what became a four-decade-long Cold War between East and West, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the policy of containment first articulated and promoted by George Kennan in 1946 were no less responsible than Soviet expansionism through intimidation and force. The Cold War eventually resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union by virtue of the strength of the U.S. economy and industrial capacity. However, it was really only a matter of luck and restraint on the part of Soviet leaders that prevented the Cold War from suddenly becoming anything but cold particularly in connection with the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In both cases, Soviet forces were armed with tactical battlefield nuclear weapons and authorized to use them on U.S. forces. Ironically, those facts only became public as a direct function of the fall of the Soviet Union and the doctrine of Glasnost instituted as a result (Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon, ). The Cold War grew out of a combination of factors and was probably not as inevitable or as much the result of aggressive Soviet expansionism as is widely believed in the West. To be sure, its roots were partly the result of the paranoid personality of Joseph Stalin. Similarly, the U.S.S.R. had given the Western Allies reason for concern over Stalins intentions in the Middle East (and elsewhere) even before the end of the war. The historical record suggests that at the time of the final Big Three meeting at Yalta, Stalin genuinely hoped for a collaborative and cooperative relationship with the American and British governments. On the other hand, even during those most hopeful of times, Soviet spies were busily at work successfully and thoroughly infiltrating the Top-Secret U.S. Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. However, the relative insensitivity of Western leaders to appreciate the legitimate historical basis and geographical realities facing the Soviet Union, especially in Eastern Europe is equally to blame. To a much greater degree than is often acknowledged by Western historians, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were, in fact, less about achieving the specific objectives laid out publicly as their fundamental purpose than they were about implementing a global containment strategy designed expressly to counter perceived Soviet expansionism. It is likely that but for paranoia and overreaction on both sides, the legitimate geopolitical concerns of both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. could have been negotiated more successfully and at far less cost to both sides. In that regard, the long-term effects and consequences of the American foreign policy approach with respect to the U.S.S.R. that was outlined and established by the Truman Doctrine and by the Marshall Plan within the first few years after the cessation of World War Two hostilities would have to be considered as responsible for the development of the Cold War as Soviet Communist expansionism.

Characterization in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Act One of William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, we meet Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt. Right away, we get an idea of who these characters are and what kind of role they will play throughout the story. Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt share many distinctive characteristics and personalities in the story. We learn that Romeo is the romantic and handsome son of the Montagues. In the beginning of the story, he was depressed, but his mood quickly changed as the story went on. We also learn that Mercutio is Romeo’s closest and good friend who tries to make Romeo forget about his first love, Rosaline. He is a great entertainer and he’s very sarcastic too. Instantly, we learn that Tybalt is a Capulet and Juliet’s cousin. He is very hot-headed, aggressive, and violent. He loathes the Montagues very much. Finally, in Act One of William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, we meet three characters, Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt and we d irectly get an idea of what the characters are like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the story, we find out that Romeo is very depressed, but towards the end, he starts changing to be romantic. In the beginning of the story, the Montagues ask Benvolio of Romeo’s whereabouts. Benvolio answers that Romeo has seemed troubled about something since the morning. Montague quotes, â€Å"Away from light steals home my heavy son and private in his chamber pens himself, shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and makes himself an artificial night†(I, i, 138-141). He’s talking about how Romeo looks so sad that it seems as if he doesn’t want to come home and he rather be locked up in a room with shut windows blocking daylight in or out. This makes Montague think that it sounds like Romeo is making himself live in an imaginary, not existing, fake world all by his lonesome self. When Benvolio and Romeo meet, they talk about what is bothering Romeo. This is when we learn that Romeo is depressed by the rejecti on of his love, Rosaline, who believes in chastity. Also, Rosaline won’t return the love that Romeo is waiting impatiently for. So this is why Romeo is heart-broken. But later, Romeo relieves his depressed feelings and he soon becomes romantic when he meets his new love, Juliet. When Romeo first sees Juliet at the Capulet ball, he completely forgets about Rosaline and falls in love with Juliet at first sight.

Transnational Mgt. Case Analysis :: essays research papers

Problem Statement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company is a highly successful consulting firm worth over 1.8 billion dollars. However, its leader Rajat Gupta wondered if the company could better utilize the knowledge of its employees to better serve its worldwide clients. It was obvious that McKinsey & Company had a strong base of core competencies among its employees, but Gupta was unsure if knowledge development was meeting its clients’ needs in an information and knowledge driven age. Clients hired McKinsey & Company expecting leading edge information from to assist them in their decision-making processes. Gupta felt a process was needed to develop, capture, and leverage this information which he considered an asset to the company. So, the task lay before them on how to accumulate and store the information quickly and make it readily available to consultants on a global scale. List of Symptoms †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company desired to provide state-of-the-art knowledge to its clients but currently had no means of measuring exactly how well they were doing in developing their knowledge. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Employees were not being properly developed for the new direction of the McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company still had the ability to provide excellent advice to its Clients. However, they were not as prepared as their competitors for dealing with the upcoming technologies of the future. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company had experienced rapid growth. McKinsey & Company had 3,800 consultants in 69 offices worldwide. In its present state, the large number of employees and offices it managed actually hindered McKinsey from effectively performing its operations worldwide. Essentially, McKinsey & Company had become too large for itself under its current architecture. Alternative Solutions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company did not desire to rest on its laurels and remain content with the status quo, rather they aggressively sought out to find answers to their dilemmas. They realized that being a 1.8 billion dollar company did not come easily and also that without modifications they would not remain in their top position in consulting. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (1) McKinsey & Company must implement a system of knowledge management in which the entire organization is able to benefit from the sharing of knowledge between employees. This will allow the company to benefit internally. Alternative Solution One: (2) In order to measure the results McKinsey & Company must revisit their goals to develop, capture, and leverage their knowledge to better serve their clients. Alternative Solution Two: Know the audience to be measured and what benefits they seek from their relationship with McKinsey & Company.