Tuesday, December 31, 2019

2019-20 LSAT Test Dates and Registration Deadlines

The LSAT is currently offered seven times per year. Each test is administered on either a Saturday or a Monday, at either 8:30 AM or 12:30 PM. Here is the full schedule for the 2019-20 LSAT test dates, as well as the registration deadlines, score release information, and alternative dates for Sabbath observers. 2019-20 LSAT Dates (North America) You can sign up for the LSAT date of your choice one of two ways: online through your LSAC account, or by phone. You must pay the LSAT fee to complete your registration. Keep in mind that there are earlier deadlines for fee waivers and testing accommodations. Test Date Registration Deadline Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 8:30 AM* August 1, 2019 Monday, October 28, 2019 at 12:30 PM September 10, 2019 Monday, November 25, 2019 at 12:30 PM* October 15, 2019 Monday, January 13, 2020 (check ticket for time) December 3, 2019 Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 8:30 AM January 7, 2020 Monday, March 30, 2020 at 12:30 PM February 11, 2020 Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 8:30 AM March 10, 2020 *A disclosed test is one that will never be administered again. If you take a disclosed test, you will receive extra information with your score report, including a copy of your answer sheet and the scored sections. LSAT Score Releases Starting with the October 2019 exam, LSAT scores will be emailed to test takers within hours of the exam. You can also request to receive mailed scores, which you will receive approximately one month after taking the test. The LSAT score report includes your current score, results from all the LSAT tests you’ve taken (up to 12), an average score, your score band, and your percentile rank. If you took a disclosed test, you will also have access to a copy of your answer sheet, a score conversion table, and a copy of the scored sections that contribute to your score. Your score will also be sent to all law schools for whom you purchased a score report. If you took a paper LSAT and you believe your score is wrong, you can request that your test be hand-scored for a fee of $100. To do so, you must send LSAC a copy of your LSAT Score Report, your name and LSAC account number, and an explanation of the reason for your request. The request must be submitted no later than 40 days after your test date. all be sent no later than 40 days after your test date. If the machine-generated score was incorrect (too low or too high), an updated score will be sent to you and the law school admissions offices. You can cancel your score by 11:59 PM on the sixth calendar day after your test date. If you fail to cancel by the deadline, your score will become part of your permanent record and cannot be canceled for any reason. Canceling your score is irreversible, and there are no refunds. Your law school report will reflect the fact that you canceled your score, and you will not get a copy of your score report. However, if you took a disclosed test, you will still receive a copy of your test questions and the credited answers. LSAT Dates for Saturday Sabbath Observers Some students cannot take the LSAT on a Saturday for religious reasons. If this applies to you, and you want to take the LSAT during one of the months its being administered on a Saturday, you can request to take the test on an alternative day. To do so, you must first register for the regular Saturday LSAT date, then indicate in your registration that you need to take it on an alternative day. In addition, you must also submit a signed letter from your cleric, on official stationery, confirming that you are associated with a religion that observes the Sabbath. The letter can be mailed, faxed, or emailed. It must be received by the registration deadline; otherwise, your registration will be refused and you won’t be able to take the test. Once LSAC receives and approves the letter, they will notify you of your alternative test date through your online account. You can also call to register and request an alternative date by phone (215-968-1001). For 2019-20, the LSAT dates that are open for alternative Sabbath dates are September 2019, February 2020, and April 2020. The alternative date will take place within a week before or after the original test date. Tests administered on an alternative date are administered via pencil and paper, rather than the new digital format.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Different Types Of Initiation Strategies - 1129 Words

This review of literature examine the different types of initiation strategies implemented among individuals to determine which ones were used across genders and which ones were most successful. More specifically the connection between Sociosexuality and nonverbal behavior and relationship beliefs that determine relationship initiation success. Lastly, it analyzes variables that include the person’s self-esteem and reception received during the initiation. Sociosexuality and Nonverbal Behaviors Individuals sometimes desire commitment and closeness before engaging in sexual intimacy. According to Simpson, Gangestad and Biek (1993), restricted individuals are the ones who require intimacy before sex, where unrestricted are the opposite. In both cases nonverbal behavior were important to relationship initiation, but not as much as those who were classified as restricted (Simpson et al., 1993). They also observed that women scored higher than men for non-verbal behaviors used in initiation. (Simpson et al., 1993). Even though men were almost equally likely to lean forward, laugh, downward gaze, and demonstrate open body posture when initiating nonverbal behaviors (Simpson et al., 1993). As expected, women still managed to depict more intimacy then men did. Findings showed that men and women who vary on unrestricted and restricted traits perform nonverbally in a laboratory setting (Simpson et al., 1993). Similarly, Vannier and O’Sull ivan (2011), who also studied nonverbalShow MoreRelatedPlanning And Execution Of A Strategy Essay1337 Words   |  6 PagesStrategy and Challenges Introduction In modern days we often hear about all different types of strategies, such as military strategy, business strategy, marketing strategy, or government strategy etc. It is widely known that strategy is vitally important to achieve the identified goals for business organizations. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

The European Middle Ages †Change over Time Free Essays

The economy of the Middle Ages The economy has long been a major force in the development of societies for centuries. It often changes and fluctuates, consequentially resulting in the success or failure of civilizations. The economy of medieval Europe originated as that of a feudal systemdue to the dangerous and chaotic conditions of the continent at the time. We will write a custom essay sample on The European Middle Ages – Change over Time or any similar topic only for you Order Now By the end of the Middle Ages, the feudal system no longer being used due to its newfound inefficiency with the new situations emerging. Towns and trade began to get more popular, but society was still agriculturally based and comparatively less developed than the societies of Asia. The early Middle Ages are characterized by the Church and the feudal and manorial systems; systems in which every European’s life were centered around. In this arrangement there were kings, lords, vassals, knights, peasants and serfs. The hierarchy was that of a property owning basis. It was a land exchange for protection. During early medieval times, Europe was in a state of chaos. Muslim, Magyar, and Viking invaders devastated the continent and surrounded it from all sides. With no true government in place, people were susceptible to invasions, and then came the feudal system. When kings gave men plots of land, those men would have to provide protection for the king and the land given through knights. The system was actually extremely complex because a lord was a vassal and he could also be a knight. In addition to that, a vassal could be a vassal to multiple people and they often fought over land. After the knights were peasants, people who worked the land of their lord. Some peasants were serfs, who were legally bound to the land they were born on, but they were not slaves. The wealth of every lord came from the work of his peasants. The manorial system branched out of the feudal system and was the more economic side of feudalism. The manor was the estate of the lord and there was an agreement between the lord and the peasants who worked the land. In exchange for housing, some farmland, and protection from bandits, the peasants would maintain the estate. A manor was like a small community in the way that is was self-sufficient and had all the necessities for someone living in that time. The manor normally consisted of the lord’s house, a church, workshops, fields, pastures, and a small village for the peasants. The serfs and peasants were also able to produce most of the goods needed for everyday life. The downside of living on the manor, for peasants at least was the taxes. There were taxes on the grain from the lord’s mill, a marriage tax, and a tithe, a church tax, to the village priest. Both of these systems were rigid and social mobility was essentially nonexistent. There was much change in medieval society; some of the causes for these changes even started some domino effects. For example, there was a huge population increase around the 1000s because more efficient farming. Peasants began to rely on horses more than oxen, resulting in a faster plow. The three-field system was also being used, allowing more land to be farmed and more diversity in the medieval diet. Not only was the population increasing, but people were also living longer. Additionally, the worry of being robbed by bandits or invaded by foreigners was gone, so people could now be more independent and could travel without as much fear. Through these factors, there is a growth of towns and the decline of the feudal and manorial systems begins. The expanding towns mainly consisted of peasants and runaway serfs and weren’t as reliant on farming as they were before. This led to other professions reemerging. Local manufacturing was part of town life and the managing of the training of apprentices, the quality of products, and the prices for the goods were all controlled by a guild. Guilds had a monopoly for their trade in their town. Although guilds and towns did help, what truly had a substantial effect on society were wars and diseases. The Crusades, the Bubonic Plague, and the Hundred Years’ War caused a variety of events and eventually led to the end of the Middle Ages. Although it was technically a failed expedition, the Crusades, a series of wars for the reconquering of the holy land fed by religious zeal, had quite a good effect on Europe’s future. After the Crusades, Christians’ relationship with Muslims was severed, but trade routes to Asia opened up everywhere. The trade between the two regions led to new technologies being introduced to Europeans. Furthermore, the power of nobles decreased and the feudal system began to slowly decline over the next 200 years. An example of a flourishing city is Venice that expanded and grew rich. Despite the slightly less unpromising time after the Crusades, the Black Death devastated Europe and made it digress some. The bubonic Plague originated in Asia and had already rampaged through Asia and Africa. Entering Europe in 1347 through a fleet of Genoese merchant ships that arrived in Sicily, the plague spread all throughout Europe quickly. Over one-third of Europe’s population died because of the plague and medieval society was shattered. The population drop led to a scarce amount of workers and increased prices. Farms were abandoned and peasants living in manors demanded higher wages. The nobles refusing to the peasant demands resulted in many revolts. The plague would come in waves, so recovering and surviving more than once was difficult. While the plague struck Europe, England and France were in a war that would come to be known as the Hundred Years’ War. During the war, England used cheaper foot soldiers that used longbows to decimate the French. Knights were being defeated by lowly foot soldiers that were most likely peasants at home, making many people question the functionality of the feudal system. Ultimately the basis of the economy was moving towards trade and the success of towns and cities, ending the system that used to hold medieval society together. Like most past and modern societies, Europe remained dependent on agriculture, the class system was still similar to that of its predecessor, and when compared to other places of the time, Europe isn’t as active in trade and gaining land. A change in economic factors didn’t deviate from the need to feed the growing population. An agricultural based economy was necessary for the survival of Europeans, so that towns could grow and trade could expand. Moreover, the class system still had the king and religious leader on top because of the new sense of nationality and the fact that Europe was primarily Catholic. The class one was born into continued to define the lives of many and social mobility was still nonexistent. Whereas Europe’s trade was beginning to flourish, the trade in Asia and Africa were far beyond that. Just like in the 800s, Europe remained fairly isolated when paralleled to other civilizations. This is partly due to the strong religious intolerance. Namely, the Spanish Reconquista and Inquisition are examples of prejudice against non-Christians, implying a sense of superiority among Christians. The continent was also recently hit with a catastrophic plague, killing one-third of the population, making trade less of a priority. In the 650 years that were the Middle Ages, the economy of the time changed drastically. Europe went from having a strict hierarchy of property owning aristocrats to the growth of merchant-led towns. Nobles lost immense power and the population wavered at the mercy of new agricultural techniques and deadly plagues. Trade became an important component of the European economy, but it still remained very agricultural and not as adept in trade as its peers. The economical change would lead the continent to become on of the principal contributors to history today. How to cite The European Middle Ages – Change over Time, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Corporate Governance Failure Marconi Essay Example For Students

Corporate Governance Failure: Marconi Essay An Exploratory Study of Failure in Successful Administrations: The Case Study of Marconi 1. Introduction and Aims There has arguably ne’er been a worse instance of corporate administration failure than Marconi. In October 2005, Marconi accepted a ?1.2bn offer from Sweden’s Ericsson, signalling the terminal of one of the UK’s finest fabrication companies. Over the past six old ages it has been shorn of its telecoms equipment concern and reduced to an vague hindquarters company, called telent, which is non even permitted the self-respect of a capital missive to its name. ( Riley, 2005 ) Marconi was one time, briefly, the most valuable company listed on the London Stock Exchange, under the name General Electric Company, but over the class of 20 old ages it has gone through assorted phases of diminution. Under an bossy head executive, Arnold Weinstock, it attained its greatest power in the late seventiess and early 1980s by working cost-plus, inflation-proofed contracts in telecoms, power technology and defense mechanism: all at that clip in the populace sector. Orders in those conditions were carved up politically. However, the GEC drifted into going a fading pudding stone as the British economic system was privatised and terrestrial time was unable, in contrast to its US near-namesake General Electric, to reinvent itself to accommodate different fortunes. After Arnold Weinstock retired in 1996, it was seized by eager Wheelers and traders, including the controversial corporate moneyman John Mayo, and transformed into a perilously overleveraged telecoms – peculiarly internet equipment – specializer ( Riley, 2005 ) British institutional investors stood by and watched this happen and even encouraged it as taging an betterment on the semi-stagnation of the terminal of the Weinstock period. There followed, after the engineering bubble explosion, as near a coppice with bankruptcy as could be, with stockholders in 2003 losing 99 % of their equity in the restructured company ( Birkinshaw, 2004 ). Even a multi billion dollar debt for equity refinancing could non salvage the concern, and in April 2005 Marconi failed to win even a little piece of BT ‘s ?10bn web upgrade programme. Assorted European and Chinese providers easy underbid Marconi, including Alcatel, Siemens and Ericsson itself, taking to claims that France, Germany and Sweden know something about back uping national title-holders that the UK does non ( Riley, 2005 ). Possibly the afflicted Marconi was no longer up to the occupation when the BT chance appeared, but it besides appeared that the new direction, led by main executive Mike Parton, had been given inappropriate inducement bundles and was unwilling to endure the hurting of the low BT stamp monetary value required. Or possibly the Marconi foremans believed their long-time clients at BT would assist them out for old time’s interest. ( Riley, 2005 ) The group ‘s long-run investors had efficaciously been wiped out and the stockholder list was d ominated by short-run investors, including former bondholders swapped into equity, supplemented by bad purchasers of what was seen as a bad recovery stock. Following the initial clang and debt for equity trade, something of a false morning ensued and, as the company recovered partly after its May 2003 relisting there was a bonanza for directors: 50 of them gained ?28m in fillips, including ?10m for Parton. However, these windfalls were earned largely for refunding debt and merely partially for accomplishing what finally turned out to be a impermanent rise in the portion monetary value. With hindsight it appears that small attending was being paid to the saving of Marconi as a significant independent force in the telecoms fabrication industry, which is frequently what happens when a concern is being run for the benefit of its creditors ( Burkinshaw, 2004 ). It has been claimed that, in world, stock market investors failed to associate to any of the consecutive direction regimes that took the group down the slippery incline from GEC through Marconi to telent: the tyrannizing pudding stone foreman, the foolhardy cowpuncher of the bubble br igade, or the double-or-quit deliverance squad loaded with stock options ( Riley, 2005 ). The diminution of Marconi can be seen as a blunt illustration of what happens when a state like the UK sucks a disproportional sum of its endowment into the fiscal technology sector: the other signifiers of technology: mechanical and electrical, suffer. However, appraising the wreckage following the explosion of the dotcom bubble of 2001, it is easy to overlook the continuity and rapid growing of e-business throughout the planetary economic system. While many high-flying engineering houses, including Beyond.com, Boo.com, and Webvan vanished, and companies trusting on their concern, such as Marconi, suffered to a great extent, usage of the Internet as an indispensable concern tool continued to turn drastically. Indeed, whilst â€Å"pure-play† online grocers Homegrocer and Webvan received tremendous media attending and heavy investing from venture capitalists, today, both are out of concern, while the traditional supermarket concatenation Tesco has emerged as the most successful grocer online. As a consequence, this work intends to carry on a theoretical survey into the factors that make administrations successful, the grounds why antecedently successful administrations go from being successful to neglecting, and the lessons which can be learnt from these administrations. It will so analyze the beginnings, rise to success and ultimate failure of Marconi, in the context of the theory, and looking for countries where Marconi’s failure was in line with theory, in for countries where it was alone. 2. The Success and Failure of Organisations–Theoretical Background 2.1 What Makes for Successful Organisations? Directors crafting a successful concern scheme today face a far more hard undertaking than their forbears. Historically, crafting a scheme centered around three elements: the â€Å"fit† between the company and its industry ( Porter, 1980 ) ; allotment of limited resources among investing chances ( Barney, 1992 ) ; and a sustainable long-run position. These elements created a frame of mention for many directors that, more than anything else, jump them to nearing scheme as if they were traveling to war. Unfortunately, they frequently use the most recent â€Å"war† as their usher to bordering tomorrow ‘s jobs and solutions and, led into this type of war game, directors began to believe that sheer weight and mass could get the better of velocity and legerity. However, resources: the firm’s ‘weight and mass’, entirely no longer can vouch industry leading. During the 1980s the U.S. car industry spent close to $ 100 billion on mechanization, acquisitions, and reconstituting their operations. However, none of the â€Å"Big Three† was able to fulfill client demands for a high-quality, low-priced auto that could fit Nipponese criterions until the early 1990s. Regardless of how much GM, Ford, and Chrysler â€Å"strategically† planned their hereafter investings, their earlier organisational constructions were non geared toward velocity and acquisition. Some of the strategic patterns that hindered big U.S. companies from prosecuting new chances rapidly are those that have besides lead to several companies neglecting to accomplish success. Vertical Integration For most of this century, positions of corporate scheme were shaped by industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry Ford, all of whom believed that perpendicular integrating could vouch beginnings of supply and unafraid purchase on sellers ( Peyrefitte and Golden, 2004 ). Vertical integrating can assist houses construct and protect their competitory advantage when engineering is predictable and markets are stable. The Big Three car shapers at one point vertically integrated into coal and Fe ore mines, steel workss, glass and gum elastic mills, and recognition funding operations to procure stable beginnings of natural stuffs and easy entree to clients. However, perpendicular integrating besides can suppress a house ‘s ability to larn, since it insulates the organisation from market alterations that may redefine its house ‘s nucleus competency. Therefore, perpendicular integrating limits a house ‘s larning possible when engineerings and markets are fast-changing ( Penrose, 1995 ). In the computing machine industry, the most successful houses tend to be slackly integrated, since they need to integrate the newest french friess and constituents from whoever produces them. In contrast, IBM trails its rivals, such as Compaq, Apple, and Dell, partially because its internal operations are geared to a high degree of perpendicular integrating, instead than fast-response to client demands ( Hitt, 1999 ) Unlearning the competitory advantage of perpendicular integrating has been a painful and humbling experience for many of this century ‘s most successful houses. Diversification In the 1950s and 1960s, variegation became the strategic arm of pick. It was popular to interrupt organisations down into decentralised net income centres and handle them as independent SBUs. The rise of pudding stones, such as ITT, Litton, and Textron, mandated that directors adopt new strategic positions to pull off their far-flung and frequently unrelated concerns. In response to this direction demand, the Boston Consulting Group advised top directors to turn up each unit ‘s place based on its market growing rate and comparative market portion. This resulted in concern units being labeled â€Å"cash cattles, † â€Å"stars, † â€Å"question Markss, † and â€Å"dogs.† ( Hambrick and MacMillan, 1982 ) Dogs were clear campaigners for divestiture because they required excessively much hard currency ; nevertheless unluckily, directors frequently found that assuring new inquiry grade countries were loaded with other dangers, as Westinghouse learned. Sing a diminution in the 1980s in the domestic demand for power bring forthing equipment, Westinghouse diversified into office furniture, overseas telegram telecasting, broadcast medium, and fiscal services: all of which came under enormous force per unit area to alter in the 1990s. Simultaneously, Westinghouse sold off its power distribution equipment concern to Asea Brown Boveri, thereby losing the chance to change over a domestic â€Å"dog† into a planetary â€Å"star† by functioning developing countries’ immense, repressed demand for electricity ( Klebnikov, 1991 ). Generic Strategies for Success Low Cost, Differentiation, and Focus Michael Porter developed a generic scheme theoretical account that could be used in a assortment of industries ( Porter, 1980 ) This theoretical account required companies to happen markets they could support from rivals either by going the low-priced manufacturer, distinguishing merchandises in ways that could command higher monetary values and, hence, higher net incomes, or raising entry barriers for new rivals. A low-priced scheme requires a house to stand out at cost decrease and efficiency, which calls for cut downing administrative disbursals, maximising economic systems of graduated table, procuring cheap providers, and minimising gross revenues, advertisement, and service costs. A distinction scheme emphasizes offering a alone merchandise or service, which allows a house to bear down a premium. It frequently relies on extended advertisement or an accent on quality that stresses alone properties that appeal to customers’ typical penchants or trueness. Firms using a dist inction scheme can gain higher net incomes without needfully puting in extremely capital intensive, hard-to-change fabrication procedures. A focal point scheme requires a house to place a defined niche in which it will either offer a alone merchandise or low cost. For illustration, Acura Legend LS, Lexus LS500, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW 735i are targeted to a niche market of American auto purchasers ( Greuner et al, 2000 ). SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis became the cant of the 1980s when Jack Welch used it to measure where GE stood in each of its assorted concerns ( Thompson, 2004 ). The acronym SWOT refers to internal strengths and failings and external chances and menaces. The end of a SWOT analysis is to assist a house place its critical strategic factors and so construct on critical strengths, correct glowering failings, exploit important chances, and avoid disaster-laden menaces. An nonsubjective SWOT analysis can assist organize the initial stairss of constructing a learning-based scheme. Used to oppugn current premises and strategic programs, SWOT analysis can assist directors interrupt free of traditional manners of thought and planning. At GE, SWOT analysis was designed to give directors a platform for rethinking how to vie with other houses. Using SWOT analysis, Welch managed to more than ternary GE’s productiveness growing rate, duplicate the proportion of one-year grosss coming from high-growth engine ering and service sectors, and initiated joint ventures with foreign houses like the Tungsram Company of Hungary ( light bulbs ) and Ericsson of Sweden ( cellular communications ) ( Thompson, 2004 ). However, these conventional market- and competitor-driven attacks to scheme miss the velocity and sensitiveness of the modern market place: low cost, distinction, and focal point are descriptive of schemes that provide directors with checklists to place and â€Å"freeze† market niches and sections. In contrast, modern, frequently learning-based, schemes are designed to â€Å"unfreeze† bing markets to make new 1s in which rapid merchandise development, high-quality fabrication and service, and invention are exploited to their fullest. The undermentioned four schemes have all been designed, and used by companies, to supply sustained competitory advantage and long term success in the modern economic system. Specific Schemes for Success Sustainable Growth In her direction authoritative The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, Edith Penrose comes to the decision that growing is indispensable for organisations. ( Penrose, 1995 ) However, organisations that grow excessively quickly push, as a consequence of scarce resources, against their administrative and cognitive boundaries and easy lose control. ( Hambrick and Crozier, 1985 ). An empirical survey by Cyrus Ramezani at the California Polytechnic State University confirmed this theory: uninterrupted growing foremost has a positive consequence on profitableness and company value, but this consequence turns unmistakably negative every bit shortly as an optimal growing value has been exceeded, doing houses slow and unmanageable ( Ramezani et al,2002 ). Firms should therefore restrict their growing to an optimal rate. To what extent growing can be sustained is steadfast particular. Three act uponing factors are peculiarly of import in finding the optimal rate of growing, notably fiscal, marke t, and managerial indexs ( Penrose, 1995 ). The sustainable growing rate from the finance literature provides the first and first indicant of how much growing should be envisioned. The rate of organic market growing in the targeted sections provides a 2nd indicant. Continued growing that is significantly above that of the market can merely be achieved through acquisitions, variegation, or a mix of both. Surveies reveal that both an increasing figure of acquisitions ( Kusewitt, 1985 ) and a high grade of variegation are negatively related to public presentation ( Hitt et al, 1998 ). Inorganic growing should therefore be limited to a manageable degree. How much growing a house can pull off is a 3rd index of both inorganic and entire growing. The internal ability to get by with growing depends on factors such as the organisational construction, the wages mechanisms, and the features of the leading squad ( Hambrick and Crozier, 1985 ). Stable Change Penetrations from scheme research reveal that an organization’s ability to introduce and alter is in-dispensable in dynamic environments. However, inordinate alteration leads to the devastation of an organization’s individuality. Peoples are merely able to move when they have a specific grade of certainty. Organizational controls provide certainty, modus operandis, and wonts. If the alteration exceeds a certain dimension, organisations progressively lose their ability to move ( Nelson and Winter, 1982 ) Organizations hence necessitate a certain grade of both stableness and alteration to last ( Leana and Barry, 2002 ). While certain facets of organisational individualities need to alter, others have to be maintained to supply the necessary security to carry through alteration, and companies therefore need to equilibrate stableness and instability in their individualities in order to maintain the ability to alter quickly, whilst doing certain that the alteration is succes sful ( Gagliardi, 1986 ). Shared Power Surveies from leading research indicate that, although the optimum leading manner in organisations may be dependent on the state of affairs, in the bulk of state of affairss common or shared power use leads to the greatest success. Merely in a few selective crisis state of affairss can an bossy leading manner be an advantage ( Ogbonna and Harris, 2000 ) Empirical surveies have shown that a healthy balance between CEO and board powers is required to guarantee effectual company public presentation and for effectual cheques and balances in corporate administration ( Pearce and Robinson, 1987 ). Healthy Organizational Culture Penetrations from game theory indicate that egocentric competition between employees has less success in the long-run than swearing cooperation. However, in successful big organisations inordinate trustingness may take to an increasing figure of free riders being dragged along. The system so becomes unattractive for high performing artists. Game theory therefore advises the in-between manner of a â€Å"defensible† civilization of trust. An winner can number on being rewarded ; those who do non accomplish can number on being penalized: the tit-for-tat scheme ( Axelrod, 1984 ). Organizational civilization therefore has to strike an optimum balance between competition and cooperation in order to keep a sensible grade of focussed responsiveness to alter ( Abell, 1996 ) Keeping the Balance In general, most successful administrations appear to maintain an optimal balance, in line with the four specific schemes, and based on the two generic 1s. Minor fluctuations around the ideal are, however, wholly normal nevertheless, at a certain point, e.g. during uninterrupted overloading, due to market force per unit areas, the system becomes progressively vulnerable. Successful organisations hence guarantee that they keep the balance in the long term, and don’t overreact in to short term tendencies. Indeed, some of the most systematically successful organisations of the last 20 old ages, among them BMW, General Electric, Siemens, and Toyota, pursued an organisational policy which kept the organisations in balance in the long term ( Abell, 1996 ) 2.2 Why Do Successful Organisations Fail? Directors have been speedy to fault their failure on external conditions such as worsening stock markets or escalating competition. It is surely true that the general market diminution over the past old ages contributed to the failure of so many one time well-thought-of companies. The big figure of failures in the air hose concern and in the telecom industry shows that industry-specific effects such as in-creasing fuel monetary values or technological alterations play an of import function in explicating corporate failure. However, as discussed above, industry effects entirely can non explicate why some companies within these industries failed, while others continued to be successful. For illustration, the telecom giants AT A ; T and Worldcom figure conspicuously on any list of failed companies, while rivals such as SBC Communications and Swisscom remained extremely profitable ( Probst and Raisch, 2005 ) In order to explicate such differences, it is necessary to analyze steadfast sp ecific grounds for failure: factors that house directors can actively act upon. Over the last few old ages it has barely been possible to read a book on direction without meeting four cardinal factors of success: a high growing rate ; the ability to alter continuously ; a extremely airy company leading ; and a success oriented company civilization. However, the great bulk of the failed organisations of the last few old ages possessed these success factors in copiousness, and precisely here lay their job. It seems that there is a boundary exterior of which these success factors have a counterproductive consequence, and antecedently successful companies that fail, frequently owe their failure to at least three of the following four features: inordinate growing ; uncontrolled alteration ; bossy leading ; and an inordinate success civilization ( Maslach, 2001 ). Excessive Growth A immense proportion of the recent TMT company failures followed a stage of enormous company growing. For illustration, the grosss of the energy agent Enron grew at an incredible 2000 per centum between 1997 and 2001 ( Swartz and Watkins, 2003 ). High growing has been related to a figure of restraints and long-run jobs in the literature among which are the managerial restraints on house growing ( Penrose, 1995 ). Aggressive houses are likely to incur managerial jobs and decreased effectivity in their nucleus operations ( Slater, 1980 ). The jobs arise from the deficiency of suited direction to organize the increasing complexness of an organisation during its enlargement. While a few houses do overcome the jobs that high growing engenders, many fail ( Gartner, 1997 ). Second, there are market restraints on house growing ( Penrose, 1995 ), as companies rapidly reach the bounds of organic growing. In order to keep their high growing rates, many failed companies turn progressively toward s acquisitions. For illustration, at ABB there were 60 coup d’etats in two old ages, at WorldCom 75 in three old ages, at Interpublic Group 200 in four old ages, and about 300 in five old ages at the Gallic energy supplier Suez and the pudding stone Tyco swallowed more than 200 companies per twelvemonth at the tallness of its hyperactivity ( Probst and Raisch, 2005 ) However, there is a long history of literature that recognizes the hazards associated with acquisitions ( Sirower, 1997 ) Empirical surveies have shown that the bulk of all acquisitions fail and that in general geting houses experience negative re-turns ( Agrawal et al, 1992 ) Youth Groups As A Discourse Community EssayThe two implicit in direction patterns that have enabled Emerson to implement its best-cost manufacturer scheme are uninterrupted cost decrease ( Mechanical Engineering, 2001 ) and unfastened communicating ( Probst and Raisch, 2005 ). Directors and employees embrace these ideals as pillars that define Emerson’s alone competitory advantage and these patterns, by coercing Emerson to endeavor for of all time higher degrees of betterment, consequence in the company ‘s habitually transcending its old achievements and public presentation. In good times and bad, Emerson has practiced cost-reduction ends at every degree. It requires employees to place specific steps necessary to accomplish these aims and directors to describe every one-fourth on the advancement against these ends. The 2nd rule: unfastened communicating, means that division presidents and works directors meet on a regular basis with all employees to discourse the parti culars of the concern and what the competition is making ( Bernstein and Macias, 2002 ). This creates an unfastened, collaborative civilization, and means that Emerson is ever looking to react to alter, and is ever prepared when alteration arrives. Learning from Failure In larning organisations, failures are looked upon as utile stairss in assisting directors get new experience, penetrations, and knowledge that may be applicable to future merchandises, engineerings, or markets. Although failures may reflect the organisation ‘s initial inability to fulfill a peculiar market or client, they can spur advanced attempts to regenerate and better the organisation ‘s footing of competitory advantage ( Garvin, 1993 ) To larn efficaciously from failures, directors need to see how old trips can interpret into cognition or actions that finally strengthen their house ‘s nucleus competences and competitory advantage. Directors must face the grounds for earlier failures head-on and reply the inquiry, â€Å"How can we use what we learned to future activities? † ( McGill, at Al, 1992 ) The legendary, fabulous Icarus is said to hold flown so near to the Sun that his unreal wax wings melted and he plunged to his decease in the Aegean Sea. His greatest strength, the power of his wings, led to his death. That same paradox can be applied to companies: their triumphs and strengths frequently seduce them into surpluss and neglect that cause their ruin ( Miller, 1990 ). Success leads to specialization and hyperbole, to assurance and complacence, to dogma and ritual. Recently, houses have begun to acknowledge the importance of the nexus between larning from earlier failures and developing future beginnings of competitory advantage ( McGill, at Al, 1992 ). For illustration, diversifying into new merchandises or industries can be dearly-won when direction does non truly understand how to leverage a house ‘s nucleus competence. Kodak’s experiences during the late eightiess and early 1990s provide a instance in point. Kodak is the world’s largest manufacturer of chemical-based movie used in consumer picture taking, medical imagination, and industrial-commercial procedures. The company ‘s strategic purpose is to rule the engineering behind imagination: capturing, entering, reassigning, and heightening images, no affair who the terminal user or client may be. To farther progress its imaging-based nucleus competences, Kodak has spent unbelievable sums on R A ; D, developing leading-edge thermal pressmans, colour use package, and a digital engineering that shops images electronically and translates them into digital informations. Despite Kodak ‘s imaging strengths in the lab, its biggest variegation move in 1988 was the acquisition of Sterling Drug, a pharmaceutical house that appeared to hold legion assuring drugs in the grapevine. Kodak reasoned that, with its extended cognition of chemical-based lab processes, it would immediately go a formidable participant in the profitable ph armaceutical industry. Because Kodak ‘s blood analyser, diagnostic equipment, chemical substrates, and movie merchandises were already widely used in medical research labs, its directors thought that Sterling would supply them with an easy entry into a new industry that would non confront the same sort of intense competitory force per unit areas qualifying the photographic movie industry ( Jaffe, 1989 ). These outlooks ne’er materialized, nevertheless. Kodak found few existent chances to leverage and portion its industrial, film-driven, chemical research lab processes with pharmaceutical merchandise development. Competitive advantage and success in the pharmaceutical industry depended more on basic lab research that involved molecules, proteins and saccharides, while Kodak ‘s labs had deeper, more applied experience with organic chemical science, polymers, and enzymes. The ability to leverage engineerings used in movies and imaging did non suit good with the accomplishments required for smooth integrating and command of the pharmaceutical industry ( Hammonds, 1989 ). Kodak finally placed a major portion of its Sterling Drug acquisition into a joint venture with Gallic pharmaceutical giant Sanofi. In July 1994, Kodak sold its part of the pharmaceutical joint venture to Sanofi ( Hammonds, 1994 ). Kodak ‘s most recent moves appear more promising. Rather than seeking external variegation chances, it has refocused its attempts on constructing a strong presence in new digital-imaging engineerings Now wary of how peripheral concerns can deflect the company from its nucleus imagination concerns, Kodak is puting in new merchandises and making strategic confederations that extend and regenerate its imaging-based competences ( Tauhert, 1997 ). Even though progresss in digital imagination may finally displace gross revenues of Kodak movie and development paper over the class of this century, the company appears committed to larning and using new accomplishments and techniques to play a prima function in the emerging multimedia industry. The Learning Organisation By the terminal of the 1990s, â€Å"the larning organization† and the construct of â€Å"organizational learning† had become indispensable nucleus thoughts for directors, advisers and research workers looking to do guarantee continued success for an administration. For any concern or organisation, the ability to larn better and faster than its rivals is an indispensable nucleus competence. A learning organisation can be recognized from the outside by its legerity in altering how it relates to the external universe and how it conducts its internal operations ( Marquardt, 2002 ) It can be recognized from the interior by an ethos in which larning from challenges and errors is cardinal ( Lytras et al, 2005 ) While successful consequences are really of import to larning organisations: typically they set really high criterions, they recognize that frequently success is merely achieved after initial errors, and what people learn from those early errors is frequently the key to eventual success. Peoples must larn from everyone’s errors, non merely their ain, as it is excessively dearly-won to hold people reiterating errors that have already been made by others ( Lytras et al, 2005 ). A narrative from IBM Corp. Tells of a really disquieted director traveling in to see his foreman right after the failure of the large invention undertaking he had headed. Wasting no clip, he said, â€Å"I suppose you ‘re traveling to fire me.† â€Å"Why should I make that, † replied the foreman, â€Å"when I ‘ve merely invested $ 6 million in your instruction? † ( Sugarman, 2001 ) That tale reflects several ways of thought that are characteristic of a learning organisation: of import larning comes from errors, one time they have been decently analyzed ; this signifier of acquisition is at least every bit of import as formal preparation ; and a company must take good attention of the people who develop this cognition. A learning organisation is good at two sorts of acquisition: good at making new solutions, and good at sharing cognition with other members who may necessitate it. So there must be openness to new thoughts, wherever they come from, and to sharing cognition for the good of the concern. It becomes of import to put aside the embarrassment over sharing one’s errors and the reluctance to inquire for aid or to borrow person else ‘s solution. It is non merely single attitudes that have to alter, though ; it is besides the policies and forms of direction behavior ( Lytras et al, 2005 ). When employees can swear that their foremans will non punish them for uncovering errors or for seeking aid with a hard job, so there will be more organisational acquisition and better solutions to be shared. The ends for a successful learning-based alteration enterprise are normally double: they focus on betterment in specific, short-run concern consequences through doing major betterments in the work processes and interpersonal relationships at the workplace. Because of these ends, â€Å"work† includes certain sorts of â€Å"learning.† In most instances, a cardinal function in explicating these dual-focus ends, and in negociating the scheme is played by a â€Å"core acquisition squad, † a brooding leading group of partisans who initiate the alteration procedure. This learning-based alteration procedure depends upon alteration bubbling up from the nucleus of the organisation, instead than on a plan cascading down from the top ( Lytras et al, 2005 ). The top executives of many successful companies are among the alteration leaders in their plans or units, and this takes topographic point under their enterprise, non their boss’s. They are voluntaries, non under orders to take alteration and, in showing it to their followings ; they seek voluntaries who want to go engaged in the enterprise ( Lytras et al, 2005 ). As such, the learning-based attack introduces into the workplace ways of thought and behaving that are significantly different from what has been ingrained by over a hundred old ages of the old in dustrial tradition ( Marquardt, 2002 ) The new economic system demands a new sort of organisation, based on new ways of thought. For an established company to do such a alteration is a immense achievement: even in merely one section of the whole, but the wagess can be huge. 3. The Marconi Case 3.1 Marconi: a Brief History General Electric Company ( GEC ) grew quickly in the 1960s under Arnold Weinstock’s tyrannizing but effectual leading. ( The Economist, 1995 ) Like its American opposite number, General Electric, GEC grew into a pudding stone with involvements in such diverse concerns as white goods, defense mechanism electronics, telecoms and power systems. While there was no existent logic underlying this array of concerns, Weinstock held the company together through a combination of his enforcing personality and a rigorous system of fiscal controls, and at its extremum GEC had gross revenues ?11bn, a hard currency heap of ?2bn and was the most valuable company in the UK FTSE ( Fildes, 1996 ). Lord Weinstock retired in 1996 and was replaced by George Simpson, a former executive at Rover. Over the class of the following five old ages, Simpson and his finance manager John Mayo masterminded a complete rethinking GEC’s corporate scheme. They decided to concentrate the company strongly on the aggressive telecoms equipment industry. Simpson bought two mid-sized US rivals for big amounts of money: Reltec for $ 2.1bn and Fore for $ 4.5bn, and invested in developing a scope of new merchandises to vie with industry leaders Cisco and Nortel ( Sheffler, 1999 ) To pay for this growing, most other concerns, including defense mechanism electronics, white goods and power systems were sold away. To reflect this alteration of scheme, GEC was renamed Marconi. Marconi, as a telecoms-equipment shaper, was ne’er an ordinary company. Initially, it was renowned as one of Britain ‘s modern concern success narratives, the transmutation of sulky, unstylish GEC into slick, advance d Marconi. 3.2 Problems Start On the dorsum of the dot com roar, Marconi’s portion monetary value peaked in August 2000 at ?12. Then things started to travel severely incorrectly, as the dot com bubble explosion, and demand for new telecoms equipment dried up. Lucent, Cisco and Nortel all announced net income warnings and Marconi’s portion monetary value dropped even though it denied that its gross revenues had been hit. Marconi stood as the Teflon of the European equipment infinite until July 2001 when it cut in half its net income prognosis for this twelvemonth and cut 4,000 occupations ( Omatseye, 2001 ). This took investors by storm and sent its stock into a sudden plumb bob, as angry investors dumped the stock. Chief Executive George Simpson acknowledged that his company was vulnerable for a coup d’etat, although he said â€Å"there are no negotiations with rivals at the present time.† He noted that with the company ‘s portion monetary value now low, â€Å"I know we are vulnerable.† ( Omatseye, 2001 ) Industry guesss hinted that Alcatel, Cisco Systems Inc., Nortel Networks and Lucent Technologies Inc. were eyeing the company ( Druce, May 2002 ). In add-on, two U.S. class-action jurisprudence houses filed cases on behalf of Marconi’s investors in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for â€Å"materially false and misleading† statements about the company ‘s growing chances. Marconi besides faced problem with its brotherhoods. â€Å" Our members are angry that their occupations have been put in hazard by a failed direction scheme, † said Roger Lyons, general secretary of the Manufacturing Science Finance brotherhood. ( Omatseye, 2001 ) However, in the physique up to the 2001 net income warning, even as they could see Marconi was immersing into the abysm, its foremans kept quiet. They paid the monetary value for this at the one-year general meeting at London ‘s Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in July, where some stockholders clearly had trouble believing they were acquiring the full narrative from the dais, where the company ‘s managers stood ( Druce, September 2002 ). It now emerged that the stockholders were so left in the dark ; but they were non the lone 1s, as some of the most of import members of the board of the company claimed that they had non been told the full inside informations, and that the president, Sir Roger Hurn, and the main executive, by so Lord Simpson, had claimed that the company was merely in a impermanent blip ( Omatseye, 2001 ). With telecoms companies looking weaker by the twenty-four hours, it was difficult to see where Marconi ‘s optimism came from, but right up to an d through the bitter one-year general meeting, Simpson and Hurn insisted they believed the universe would better, and shortly. They besides refused to permit composing down the value of Marconi’s acquisitions in America, despite the fact that its American equals had all written down their acquisitions and the value of telecoms companies had plummeted ( Druce, May 2002 ). Even the ?1 billion of extra stock Marconi had collected was deemed to be deserving every bit much as of all time. â€Å"Our position is that we will devour that extra stock as we go through this twelvemonth, † Simpson told a doubting stockholder at the one-year meeting. When the stockholder asked what would go on if the telecoms market was to take another honkytonk, Simpson replied: â€Å"What I can state is we have taken fast and Draconian action. We should be able to prolong any sensible development in gross revenues levels.† ( Druce, May 2002 ) Stockholders at the one-year meeting were openly doubting and up on the dais Marconi ‘s managers looked clearly uncomfortable. There were marks, excessively, that the relationship between Hurn and Simpson had started to come unstuck. Harmonizing to at least two beginnings, Hurn discovered shortly after the July net incomes warning that large institutional stockholders were non placated by the fire of Mayo, that they believed Marconi’s autumn from grace required more extremist action than merely ditching the finance manager, and that Simpson knew small about telecoms ( The Economist, 2001 ) Harmonizing to these beginnings, Hurn raised the issue with Simpson, proposing that possibly he should go before the calls became louder. Simpson responded by seeking the backup of the remainder of the board. He received it, but the one time close relationship between the two work forces was damaged, and this may hold contributed to both work forces being fired at the Monday meeting, as the angry managers took their retaliation ( The Economist, 2001 ). Immediately following the meeting, the disclosures of the losingss made meant that the company, loaded down by immense debts from its acquisitions, was fighting to stay adrift. Those close to GEC in its old pretense were outraged at the devastation that has been wrought. Roy Gardner, the Centrica main executive, was a former GEC board member: â€Å"What happened at Marconi could non hold happened under the old GEC direction, † he said. â€Å"Either they changed the control environment or they ignored what they were told.† ( Omatseye, 2001 ) Derek Bonham, the former Hanson executive who joined the board in April 2001, took over as president, with the greatest reluctance because, as president of Cadbury and deputy president of Gallaher, the baccy company, he had plentifulness to busy his clip, and knew that the jobs with Marconi were likely to acquire worse ( The Economist, 2001 ). Indeed, it was reported that, after the company’s first net incomes warning in July, he was asked by Hurn, so president, if he would take on the function, and declined ( Druce, May 2002 ). However, by the clip of the general meeting, Bonham knew he would hold to rethink, and over the weekend he discussed the chance with his married woman. The information handed out to non-executive managers in front of the meeting showed that Hurn and Simpson had been hopelessly optimistic in their July estimations of how the company would do. Its debts had spiralled, its losingss had climbed to 227m in the three months to June 30, the first one-fourth of Marconi’s fiscal twelvemonth, trading remained desperate and another 2,000 occupations would hold to travel ( Omatseye, 2001 ). Bonham could non see how Simpson and Hurn could avoid fall ining the casualty list, and so agreed to take on the function. Whilst Simpson and Hurn did non set up a battle to remain on the board, it would be incorrect to propose their going was anyplace near amicable. Thousands of Marconi workers, and 1000s more former Marconi workers, felt severely let down by their direction squad, and the disillusion extended right up to the council chamber ( The Economist, 2001 ). If Hurn and Simpson had hoped to salve their reputes by remaining on after the July net incomes warning and doing John Mayo, the finance manager fired at the clip of the net income warning, a whipping boy, the gambit backfired severely. Shortly after stepping down, Hurn made it cognize that he will non be seeking a pay-off, and Bonham made it kick he expected Simpson to hold to similar footings. However, whilst Simpson and Hurn could retire to cream their lesions, and avoid the muss they created, the remains of the Marconi direction squad was forced to seek and salve what remained of the house from bankruptcy, and Michael Parton, caput of the Communications Networks Division, was moved up to the main executive’s office. Unlike Simpson, whose background was in technology, Parto n was good versed in Marconi ‘s nucleus concerns. However, until the crisis, few analysts had thought him chief-executive stuff, with Mayo due to take over from Simpson before the company started falling apart ( Druce, May 2002 ). Indeed, as Bonham expected, the jobs were far from over, as Marconi’s Bankss were shocked by the three month trading statement, and by the intelligence that debts had risen by more than ?1 billion since the twelvemonth terminal to make 4.4

Friday, November 29, 2019

Women authors as mirror of society paper an Example of the Topic All Posts by

Women authors as mirror of society paper Abstract The paper is aimed at discussing and analyzing the role women authors played in history and literature during the period of 1865-1912. The discussion is centered on the creative work of Louisa May Alcott, and her major work Little Women as one of the literary pieces, which provide the contemporary reader with insight into social and gender relations of the then society. Need essay sample on "Women authors as mirror of society paper" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Introduction As long as people write, writing will remain an effective instrument of expressing the authors views and opinions on the society in which he (she) lives. The works of literature created in the periods, when serious social and cultural changes take place, acquire additional historical value and frequently become the object of analysis in contemporary society. The period between 1865 and 1912 can be characterized as the time of difficult reconstruction and restoration; the need for restoring has not only been physically required after the war end the war has also revealed profound need to implement changes into all spheres of social and cultural life. Female writers of that time have not only become the mirrors of the then societal events, but they have also represented their own interpretations and analyses of the deep social changes affecting human relations and creating new strata of social conscience. Louisa May Alcott was one of those talented people, whose works are immortal and never lose their significance. Having become well-known for her work Little Women, she was also one of the brightest representatives of her time and has created the literary work which is constantly addressed by contemporary scholars for the research of the changing social status of women during the period of Alcotts life. The importance of Little Women is not in realistically depicting the role of women in the 1865-1912 society; Alcotts work is for through having displayed the process of the changing social status of women, and the womens attempts to expand the traditional boundaries of their gender roles. With several women being the protagonists of the book, Alcott has provided its reader with the vast opportunities to compare and contrast the roles of women traditionally held in the society of that time, and the roles they acquired through the ever lasting process of the gender and social development. Female socialization is depicted by Alcott as the combination of class and gender attributes. As belonging to a certain class remains crucial for any women during the period of Alcotts life, there are numerous signs of how women attempt at breaking the tradition to conform to the societal gender requirements. (Baym 1978, p. 94) The author recognizes the importance of class distinctions in the gendered society of her time, but she also gives her 'Little Women' some space to erase these requirements in order to remain individual and to be happy in their lives. In this aspect Alcott frequently steps away from conformity in terms of gender relations. It is possible to suggest, that she expresses her desire and dream about the status women should possess in the society gender structure. The major characteristics making Little Women stand out, is the description of how gender and financial status are mutually determining. The first pages of the book make us familiar with the fact that young girls clearly realize their societal status; moreover, it is not that the lack of finances makes them unhappy it is the fact that this lack of finances does not allow them looking like other young ladies at their age. This is the first sign of class stratification and the personal identification of class in the book. Moreover, the scenes of rage and envy usually displayed by girls within the family circle are replaced by public scenes of humiliation and class shame. (Foot 2005, p. 129) Women, already excluded from the growth of a professionalized white collar identity, are especially sensitive barometers of the injuries that accompany the emergence of middle class styles and sensibilities. Limited in terms of their economic production, [] middle-class women become the guardians of the difference between economic class and social status and they do so by knowing which feelings to have about which kinds of people. (Foot 2005, p. 130) Alcott describes Amy as the representative of traditional social and class attitudes, as well as the supporter of the opinion that women should learn to be agreeable, particularly poor ones (Alcott 1993, p. 263). Amy views the need to conform to gender roles as the compensation for belonging to the lower social class. Member of the nineteenth century society, she does not see any other pathway except for closely following the conventions of her social class and gender. The fact that all March girls work is another relation to the gender status of the society in which Alcott lived. Working for a woman meant the conflict of both gender and social attitudes, but Jo has become the only girl in the family to break those prejudices and to achieve the position of the successful New York author. Her life attitudes are briefly expressed in the response to the young boys commentary related to her style (or rather, absence of this style): A governess is as good, as a clerk. I hate ordinary people! (Alcott 1993, p. 300) But depicting Amy and Jo as the two contrasting characters of the nineteenth centurys society, Louisa May Alcott has not yet clearly identified what a woman in the society should be. Conclusion As long as the reader may perceive the equality with which Alcott treats her characters, it is difficult not to emphasize the social and financial rewards Amy obtains by conforming to the requirements of her social and gender status. Moreover, with Alcott frequently compared to her Jo character, she has implicitly viewed Amys behavior as more accepted within her societal environment. Jo has displayed solid abilities to sustain her independence and to erase the limits female gender determined during 1865-1912, but the society has not been ready to those changes. It is possible to assume that Jo has appeared ahead of her time, as well as Alcott has clearly predicted or even prepared her readers towards the gender status changes, which are accepted as a norm among contemporary people. References Alcott, Louisa May. (1993). Little women. New York: Signet. Baym. N. (1978). Womens fiction: A guide to novels by and about women in America, 1820- 1870. Itaca: Cornell University Press. Foot, S. (Winter, 2005). Resentful Little Women: Gender and class feeling in Louisa May Alcott. College Literature, 112-136.

Monday, November 25, 2019

The War of 18121 essays

The War of 18121 essays The War of 1812 was a conflict between the nations of Great Britain and The United States. This was a war fought over the rights of non-combatant, neutral nations. Issues of this conflict included impressment, rights to limit the navigation of soverign nations, and how a nation could cope if these rights were violated. In the late 1700s and early 1800s there were a series of conflicts between Great Britain and France. Both of these countries trampled the rights of non-combatants during the conflict. For example, Britain forbade any American ship to sail to a port in the Napolianic Empire. Likewise, the French government reciprocated with similar laws against ports within the British Empire. Due to very harsh conditions on those serving in the British Naval Service, many men deserted. This forced the British to turn to the practice of impressment. This is a process by which the British effectively abducted servicemen to fill their ranks. The British argument was that many of their men deserted and began serving in the American Merchant Marine. This, in their opinion, justified them in boarding American ships, and abducting their crew. At one point, British impressment led to the Chesepeak Incident. During this incident, when the American frigate refused to be boarded, it was In order to deal with these maters, the American authorities tried several peaceful interventions. In order to prevent confrontations, the Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts were passed. These acts were in accordence with both British and French wishes. However through all of these steps, the disrespect of American soverignty continued. After exhusting all peacful options, the Americans entered the War of 1812 with great hopes for a successful ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Major Issues and The Place of Traditional Religion Essay

Major Issues and The Place of Traditional Religion - Essay Example n has mostly been undertaken by foreign observers who unfortunately have been less analytical due to their lack of knowledge of African languages, which are normally rich in cultural expression and linguistic (Olupona, 1991). Olupona examines the reasons that made the study of African religion study to suffer serious setbacks in the initial efforts by scholars to get a unit of study from it. According to Olupona, the impact of Christianity and particularly its emphasis of particularity did much damage to the overall study of the African traditional religion and the rightful recognition of its experience. This is essentially what has contributed to the many difficulties bedeviling the study of Africa religion to date, among them being the problem of sources and what could be referred as the goal of Africa religion study. Other problems that have been besetting this study that Olupona has pointed is the size of the Africa as a continent and derogatory appellations like â€Å"dark continent, not to mention the multitude and complexity of each and every quality of Africa’s various language, climate, culture and such like. Another issue that Olupona has examined in depth in this chapter is the problem of the consequences of the European settlements that have wiped out whole cultures and obliterated lots and lots of racial memories, consequently establishing what has been referred to as â€Å"a bit of whiteness† syndrome in the African continent. He also explores the unrepairable blow that has been caused to the Africa traditional religion by the western education, mercantile or civil services crisscrossing the Africa continent (Olupona, 1991). In this chapter Olupona look at the effect of traditional religion to today’s South Africa. According to him it is difficult to talk of a single world view in Africa because of the cultural heterogeneity that predominate Africa. He proceeds to interrogate the issue of whether worldview can be differentiated in the late 20th

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Boston Beer Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Boston Beer Company - Essay Example The trend all these ratios have over time is analyzed to check if they are deteriorating or improving (Steffy, Zearley & Strunk, 1974). Comparative valuations of different companies belonging to the same sector are also carried out in order to see how they stack up, and also to get an idea of their comparative performance (Sen, 2008). Ratio analysis is a very important factor of fundamental analysis (Johri, 2010). Although there is abundance of financial ratios, investors are mostly familiar with a few key ratios, especially the ones that are comparatively easy to calculate. A few of these ratios are the current ratio, the debt-equity ratio, return on equity, the price/earnings ratio and the dividend payout ratio. (Muhammad Arif Ghani, 2007) Most companies have some values, for a specific ratio, that have a certain range. A company may be assumed to be grossly overvalued or undervalued depending on the ratio figured out provided the ratio does not fall in that range. Keeping in view the fact that a ratio which is acceptable for one industry may be considered as much more high in another, therefore the ratios are generally compared for those companies which are in operations in the same sector. A good example may be; companies in utilities sectors typically have high debt-equity ratios, but the same ratio may be considered as unsustainably high for a technology company (Palepu, Bernard & Healy, 1996). Ratio analysis can be very useful in providing an early warning of a potential deterioration or improvement in the financial performance or situation of a company. To find for any such hints, the experts and analysts does engage in extensive ratio calculations of the financial data in quarterly financial reports of a company (Cadle, Paul & Yeates, 2010). Generally, successful companies show solid ratios in all the areas, and a small hint of weakness in a single area may

Monday, November 18, 2019

Self Esteem, Self Confidence and Self Motivation with Respect to Goals Essay

Self Esteem, Self Confidence and Self Motivation with Respect to Goals and Objectives - Essay Example It is a sort of competent feeling that a person contains within himself as he tries to overcome the hurdles that life throws his way with a matter of confidence. Self confidence again is a dependent factor on a person having a certain amount of esteem for himself. It is the characteristic by which a person is able to regain and perceive the environment around him in a way better than others; in other words having confidence helps a person to come out of the fear of doing something or trying something new. Confidence helps to take initiatives and take control of situations. It thus goes hand in hand with self esteem greatly because unless a person contains a certain amount of belief in his own self with respect to any task that he might want to carry out, he will not be able to do so unless he possesses an ounce of zeal and esteem. Self motivation is yet another characteristic that every person has within himself but only few are able to tap and exploit as mentioned above. Motivation is the power by which one can induce himself or someone else to carry out a task or an activity with utmost confidence. Self motivation is when a person has the power and belief in his own self to do something and thus becomes his own personal driving factor towards the chalet of desire. In order to understand the same, one can easily witness how self esteem and self confidence are again required in order for a person to be motivated by his own self. If one does not possess enough courage or confidence, he will not be able to motivate himself in the long run. All these qualities take some time for people to tap into and bring out. They all require certain factors from the outside environment of a human being as well in order to be touched upon. For example, self esteem is an aspect that rises and increases every time a person is praised by others for doing a certain something. People usually tend to think higher of them once others begin to respect them, listen to them and take their advice. When people get attention and achieve success in copious amounts, their levels of self esteem automatically increase. (Dubrin, A) Much the same way, in the same process, a person also tends to increase his personal amounts of confidence once others begin to praise or compliment h im on something. For example, taking any business enterprise into account, an entrepreneur would only be able to increase his sales and take his venture to a higher level if he was praised from the outside world. Only when he receives adulation from society will he become aware of whatever he is worth. One must try and tap this confidence and esteem on his own self, however, too much of the same, on the lines of an overdose can become a problem as people usually think that they are too good for anybody else and thus end up hurting and harming the environment around them. This usually leads to them losing out on their friends and family and they turn out to be aggressive and far too overconfident. Thus, these qualities must be tapped in proper balanced

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Abraham The Origin Of Islam And Christianity Religion Essay

Abraham The Origin Of Islam And Christianity Religion Essay Abrahams story is one of the complicated texts in both the Quran and the holy bible (Froese 12). Shosh (526) notes that its image is variably presented in the two contexts. While many scholars in religion have concentrated on understanding Abrahams sons: Ishmael and Isaac (Murray 298) and their roles in the origin of Muslim and Christian communities, Abraham is a very influential figure in the origin of both religions (Shosh 527). This essay gets out of the way and argues that Abraham is the sole father of the two religions. The argument will isolate Abrahams character from his sons at the specific case of sacrifice of his son to God (Genesis 22: 1-9 Q 37:105). Sons roles in his life may be mentioned; their characters in origin of the two religions are insignificant in this essay. The Quran and holy Bible give a contradictory story about this topic. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac (Genesis 11-12 Q 2-3). The bible in Genesis presents Ishmael as son born by a slave, Hagar; while Isaac as the true son of Abraham (Murray 309). Quran presents both as biological sons of Abraham. Which of the two sons did God ask for a sacrifice from Abraham? This is a difficult question to answer at our generation. According to the bible, Isaac was the only son of Abraham (Genesis 21) who was born under the power of God; Ishmael and Isaac were both the sons of Abraham (Q 2). Quran stipulates that Ishmael, the first born of Abraham, was the sacrifice God asked from Abraham (Q 37:105) whereas on contrary, the holy bible states that Isaac, the only child of Abraham, was the sacrifice God wanted from Abraham. Which text is right to follow? Anyway it does not matter for this argument. The fact is Abraham offered to sacrifice his son to God (Fischer 173). According to Shosh (527), Abrahams character has been viewed in different perspectives. Abraham is a profound character in matters of faith and religion; he cannot be overlooked in the study of both Islam and Christianity. In the story of sacrifice of his son, Abraham appears the first and last, both in the bible and Quran, to be posed such a difficult task by God. As Murray (300) notes Abraham heeded to this call. From this story the essay will justify why Abraham is the father of Islam and Christianity. Christianity calls for absolute obedience to God. Christians should obey all the ten commandments of God. When Abraham was called by God to offer the sacrifice of his son, he did not question. He obeyed. Abraham took his son, Isaac, the following morning and headed for the place of sacrifice (Genesis 22:3). Abraham was determined to offer the sacrifice of his only son to God. He is revealed as the father of obedience which Christians must look up to. On the other hand, Quran states that Abraham offered to sacrifice Ishmael to God (OKane 500). Ishmael was his older son and indeed closer to him; in fact they preached together in Arabia while Isaac preached in Palestine and Syria. To the amazement of many Abraham admitted to the call of God to sacrifice him. This was a sign of great obedience. Muslims have a call to abide to the rules of Allah as the only God. Abraham is the beacon of obedience. Abraham was the first to believe in both body and spirit to the one God. He was against the worship of idols which was practiced by his forefathers (Q 21:60). He preached believe in one God (Q 6:76 Froese 15). Indeed, Abraham believed in God in heaven. Accepting to offer his son to God was a sign of deep believe and trust in Him. To believe in God is to accept unconditionally to His call; heed to His laws. Abraham demonstrated believe in God which is what religion is all about. Muslims are therefore called to believe strongly to Allah as the only God. As Fischer (174) argued, Gods call to Abraham to make human sacrifice was an indication to both the Christians and Muslims that He is not interested in human sacrifice. When Abraham had just laid his son, Isaac, down to slay him the angel of God appeared to him and stopped him from doing that (Fischer, 176 Genesis 22:9). This is an indication that God is not interested in human sacrifice. Throughout the Christian history human sacrifices have never been advocated for. In the Quran context it is stated that God warned Abraham not to lay the knife to his son, Ishmael. Islamic religion does not offer human sacrifices as well. In my own opinion God used Abraham to send a message to the whole nations: God does not need human sacrifice. He is a sign of anti-human sacrifice. Why did God ask for human sacrifice from Abraham when He never needed it? This is the interesting question we need to answer in analyzing this story. Fisher (176) thinks that God wanted to expose the human nature through Abraham. Fisher further argues that God expected Abraham to bring a controversial discussion in the matter. I do not agree with Fisher. God is the creator of man; He knows his personality. There was no way God could test the nature of man. In my own view God wanted to use Abraham to reveal to the world the ideal nature of those who will inherit His kingdom. In natural sense, death especially for ones child is not as light as Abraham took it. God had inspired him first before putting him into this test. And because Abraham would be celebrated as the father of religion all over the world God made him act the way he did. In this story God wanted to clarify that religion is not contradicting. As Fisher (176) notes, God did not want to contradict himself by allowing Abraham to slaughter a son whom He had asked from Him for more than ninety years (Genesis 22). Christianity today should learn from the father, Abraham that God laws are clear and do not change. It should be clear that God remained faithful to Abraham. If God allowed Abraham to slaughter his son it would be a contradiction of a promise that Abraham would become the father of all nations. On the other hand, God would not let Ishmael be slaughtered as a sacrifice; Ishmael had been assisting Abraham in preaching in Arabia. In this argument therefore Abraham laid the foundation of religion; no contradiction. What could have happened if Abraham objected to the call of God? The religion today would not have the same meaning. God would have expelled Abraham out of His kingdom. This what the religion today holds: excommunication to the victims of r eligious contradiction. God appeared to Abraham when he had almost slaughtered his son (Genesis 22). In Qurans view Abraham had fulfilled the vision and kept His word. God wanted to use this chance to tell the Islamic religion that there is a vision in this life. Adhering to the word of Allah is the only thing to bring the vision into realization; this would be at the end of time. In Biblical view, God provided an alternative to Abraham to offer sacrifice, a lamb. This has a meaning for the Christian community: God is the solution to all the problems. It is in the same context that God sent Jesus Christ to save the world. Vision and hope are the basis of these religions. CONCLUSION The story of sacrifice by Abraham has been differently interpreted by the two texts as earlier mentioned. In both Islam and Christianity; however, Abraham plays one role-The father of religion. He represents an ideal of holy mosque and church. His character has been put in the religious history to define the way for religion. By demonstrating strong believe and faith in God, Abraham revealed to the world that there is one supreme God who should be worshipped and obeyed. Islam emphasizes on one God who should be worshipped: Only Allah Should be worshipped. Where did they derive this from? The immediate answer is Abraham. Christians believe in one God who is the father and almighty. They are indeed descendants of Abraham. Abraham is therefore the father of Islam and Christianity.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Implications of Modernist Thought in Tender Is the Night Essay

Implications of Modernist Thought in Tender Is the Night      Ã‚   The implications of modernist thought in F. Scott Fitzgeralds' Tender Is the Night, become apparent when conceptualizing crime and punishment. Besides the murder of the Negro in the Parisian hotel, the idea of crime is plastic; adultery, deceit, moral depravity barely have consequences. Actions committed with good intentions often end in despair, such as the marriage of Dick and Nicole Diver. Similarly, seduction and dissimulation are not often met with ensuing punishment. Actions, whether they be morally right or wrong, tend to remain in a staid state without the traditional response. The modernists place characters in various moments and situations that do not necessarily conclude in the set conception of "punishment."    Nicole and Dick Diver both commit "crimes" of infidelity during their marriage. While Dick's tryst with Rosemary ceases without any succinct culmination, Nicole sleeps with Tommy and ends her marriage to elope with him. Neither crime however, is met with a punishment. While Dick slowly loses his manner of attraction and wiles with women, he sinks into apathy and alcoholism. Fitzgerald does not seem to be punishing Dick in any way for his fleeting romance with Rosemary; rather, his empty life is almost an inevitability, another set of moments without weighty cause or effect. Nicole's actual instant of infidelity is described as a "moment" - not as a crime, a moral dilemma or anything deserving traditional punishment. She drifts into her affair in the same way she tends to her garden or glances at her children. Her love for Tommy Barban is simply situational; Dick was no longer fulfilling her in the manner she expect... ...s vision of Rosemary and his undying need for her body in his arms, he calls Nicole and demands that they have dinner and see a play in the evening. The crime is masked completely by the conventions that surround their lives. The punishment, therefore, remains unclear. They both continue a farce of a relationship while lying to themselves and negating any concept of criminality in their own actions. The moments come and go, the crimes and punishments are vague and ephemeral. The crimes of each of all the characters eventually effect their own psyches - their lives are damaged by their apparent neglect of reality. Living in each moment without bearing the consequences has a acute effect on Dick, but mostly leaves Nicole, Tommy and Rosemary unbroken.    Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "Tender is the Night" Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1933.   

Monday, November 11, 2019

New Business Development

This assignment cannot be completed without the effort and co-operation from our group members, Mood shaded, Mood Fakir, Rye polonium and Mood Fakery We also sincerely thank our lecturer of .NET 028, Madam Russian for the guidance and encouragement in finishing this assignment and also for teaching us in this course. Last but not least, we would like to express our gratitude to our friends and respondents for the support and willingness to spend some times with us to fill in the questionnaires. Introduction We started our company with the name Fresh & Sweet since 2012.As a new start up for our Fresh & sweet bakery. We have already done identifying on how we are going operate our bakery shop. So, as it starts operating, this company will be manage by five members. Thus, Our main focus is to sell our bakery product with our own recipe. Hence, this has been selected most of the demand from our customers. Fresh & sweet is located at Curia Saba, Jota Kimball. This location is best suitabl e for our business because there is not much competitors. Over the recent years, the profitability of our business is growing faster and has a lot of response from the public.The business is working from the capital loan from RIB bank with the amount RAM 100, 000. Purpose Pu repose Firstly, this company was established with the purpose of attracting the customers to taste our own recipe of bakery products of cakes, muffins and breads. Second, is to fulfill the demands Of our customers Of their satisfaction. Thirdly, it is to give our customer the serve;ice they need such an occasion like birthday party or weeding ceremony and so on. Besides that, our company is also set up to boost the country's economic growth and compete in the international.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The 8 ACT English Tips You Must Use in Your Prep

The 8 ACT English Tips You Must Use in Your Prep SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ACT English section can feel a bit overwhelming. You have to answer 75 questions in 45 minutes. You have to know and understand grammar rules. You have to analyze phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and whole passages. It can be scary stuff. If you can focus on a few basic tips, you can simplify the ACT English section and feel more confident when attempting to slay the ACT English beast. Whether you spend ample time diligently studying for the ACT or start your ACT preparation the night before the test, remembering these tips for the ACT English section will be beneficial on test day. In this article, I'll give you the top 8 tips for ACT English success. Using these tips willraise your score and prevent you from making careless mistakes: Read the Whole Sentence Don't Be Afraid to Pick NO CHANGE Don't Rush Rely on Rules, Not Your Ear BeSure You Know the Easy, Common Rules Eliminate Identical Answers Pick the Clearest Answer Answer the Question that You're Asked General ACT English Tips Let's start with some strategies that apply to the ACT English section as a whole. #1: Read the Whole Sentence This tip is vital for the ACT English section. Most of the questions will ask you how to change the underlined portion of a sentence. Don't just read the underlined portion. Reading the whole sentence is imperative to correctly answering the questions. The phrases that are not underlined in the sentence often provide essential information to determine whether there is an error in the underlined portion. Here is an example question from a real ACT to illustrate this point: If you just look at the underlined portion, you probably won't think there is anything wrong with the word "consecutively." It's an adverb and it modifies the verb "speak." However, when you read the whole sentence, you should notice that "consecutively" is redundant due to the phrase "for twelve hours straight." In this context, consecutively means without stopping, and the phrase "for twelve hours straight" implies that she could speak that long without stopping. Therefore, the word "consecutively" is superfluous. If you don't read the whole sentence, you might not notice the error and most likely select A. However, because the word "consecutively" is unnecessary, the correct answer is D. Additionally, some questions require you to read multiple sentences to correctly answer the questions. For example, you need the context provided by multiple sentences to answer some verb tense and paragraph order questions. Remember to do enough reading. #2: Don't Assume That There Must Be an Error Do not fear the "NO CHANGE" option. If a sentence seems fine, look at the differences between the answer choices to understand what concept the question is testing and determine whether that error is present in the original sentence. The NO CHANGE answer tends to be more common than expected if all answer choices were distributed evenly. #3: Don't Rush This tip may seem obvious, but it's important to think about as you're taking the test. Make sure you read and understand the relevant sentences and questions before marking your answer. It's better to have to guess at the end or skip the more time consuming big picture questions than to rush through questions and make careless mistakes. Check out this question that you could easily miss if you were to rush: If you're going too quickly, you may miss this relatively easy question. Perhaps you won't notice that the apostrophe comes before the "s" in "girl's" and select NO CHANGE, or you may not recognize that we're dealing with a plural possessive noun. The plural noun "faces" suggests that we're talking about more than one girl, and if you read the passage carefully, you'll know that the sentence is referring to the faces of Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths. Therefore, the apostrophe should come after the "s" to indicate plural possession. The answer is G. This question is testing a somewhat basic rule, but if you're not paying close enough attention, you can miss a question like this that you should be getting right. Make sure you identify the type of question you're being asked, and go through all the necessary steps to find the correct answer. Refer to our ACT English articles in this blog for strategies for answering every type of question that appears on the ACT English section. Grammar Tips Here are some tips that focus exclusively on the grammar questions. #4: Rely on Grammar Rules to Answer Grammar Questions On the ACT English section, you should primarily use your knowledge of grammar rules to answer the grammar questions. Don't rely on your ear for what sounds right, except on idiom questions. Many correct sentences may sound wrong to you, and the ACT tests rules that are often broken in spoken and written English. Take a look at this official ACT example: If you attempt to answer this question by relying on what sounds right, you probably won't notice the error. The sentence sounds fine (at least it did to me when I first read it). However, if you rely on grammar rules to answer this question, you should first identify the underlined word as a pronoun. Whenever you see a pronoun underlined, you should check to see if there is an error in pronoun agreement. In the sentence, the pronoun "them" doesn't have a clear antecedent. The only answer choice that corrects the error is G. Here's an overview of all of the grammar rules that are tested on the ACT. #5: Some Common Errors Are Relatively Simple to Fix Some of the most common grammar errors on the ACT English section are fairly easy to fix. If you're able to identify these errors, often you can correct them with simple changes. Redundancy/Wordiness Redundancy and wordiness errors can be fixed by eliminating words or by making a sentence more concise. If a sentence makes sense without some of the underlined words, get rid of them. Here is an example: I think maybe I might possibly have met them all. F. NO CHANGE G. perhaps I've H. I've possibly J. I've By just looking at the underlined phrase, you should be able to determine that this is a redundancy question because "might" and "possibly" are synonyms, and therefore, both words aren't necessary. Additionally, the word "maybe" makes both "might" and "possibly" superfluous. All you have to do to eliminate the error is to get rid of "might" and "possibly." The correct answer is J. Unnecessary Commas Some of the comma questions on the ACT can be a little tricky and require you to know your comma rules well, but many comma questions simply require you to get rid of unnecessary commas. If you're unsure if a comma is needed, the general rule is to go with no comma. Take a look at this question: The sentence works just fine without the comma. On the ACT, if the sentence doesn't require a comma, there shouldn't be one. All you have to do to fix the error is get rid of the comma after "value." The correct answer is H. Dangling Modifiers If you start a sentence with a descriptive phrase, the word following the comma has to be the noun the phrase is describing. Any time you see an introductory phrase that describes a noun, the described noun should come right after the comma. This is an example of a dangling modifier: A writer for PrepScholar, Justin's goal is to help prepare students for ACT success. The introductory phrase is describing "Justin," not his goal. This sentence would fix the dangling modifier: A writer for PrepScholar, Justin hopes to prepare students for ACT success. #6: Eliminate Identical Errors If two answers are functionally identical, they must both be wrong. For example, if there is a question about transitions and two of the answer choices are "furthermore" and "moreover," you can determine that both are wrong because there is no way to differentiate between the two options. If you notice that more than two options are functionally identical, it will be a "Which of the following would not be acceptable?" question. Let's take a look at one of our previous examples: I think maybe I might possibly have met them all. F. NO CHANGE G. perhaps I've H. I've possibly J. I've If you didn't initially notice the redundancy error, you could have started going through the answer choices. Look at choices G and H. There is no real difference between the phrases "perhaps I've met them all" and "I've possibly met them all." Therefore, you would be able to determine that they must both be incorrect, and you can eliminate them. Then, you can compare the two remaining choices. Answer choice J is more concise, maintains the meaning of the original sentence, and it's grammatically correct, so it's the right answer. Rhetorical Skills Tips Now, here are some tips to use for the rhetorical skills questions. #7: All Prose Should Be as Clear as Possible Focus on picking the answer choice that provides all the necessary information and nothing more, in the most straightforward way possible. Here is an actual ACT example for you: While the phrase "being the place in which" doesn't contain a specific grammatical error, it's unnecessarily wordy. Every word or phrase in the passages on the ACT English should serve an essential purpose. This sentence can be more straightforward and concise. The correct answer is C. If we change "being the place in which" to "in which," none of the information in the sentence has changed, but the prose is more clear. #8: You Must Answer the Question You're Being Asked This tip may seem fairly obvious, but thinking about it is helpful when answering rhetorical skills questions. Each question asks you for specific things. Focus on selecting the answer choice that best answers the question instead of picking an answer choice that just seems plausible or sounds right. Here is an example for you: Many students will be stumped on questions like these. Since all the answer choices are true, they'll just randomly pick the choice that sounds formal and complex. Focus on the wording of the question. The correct answer should be the most specific and vivid. The answer choice that paints the clearest image of the underwater terrain will be the right answer. By focusing on what the question is specifically asking, you should be able to determine that the correct answer is A. None of the other answer choices vividly describes the underwater terrain. What's Next? Review the posts on the five critical concepts you must understand to ace ACT English and formality on ACT English. Both offer some helpful insight into the English section of the ACT. Also, read the article on how to approach ACT English passages. Make sure you have a systematic approach to these passages that works for you and will enable you to reach your target score. Aiming forthat elusive perfect 36? Tryour guide to getting a 36 on the ACT Englishfrom a perfect scorer. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: