Thorntons PLC Strategic Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Thorntons PLC Strategic Analysis - Assignment Example Thornton's PLC has 230,000 workers worldwide and works 520 processing plants in 82 nations. Thornton's PLC central social effect is to improved ways of life among a large number of individuals through formation of profitable, reasonable monetary turn of events. Thornton's PLC brands indicated the most grounded development, right now presenting deals close on 700 million liters in more than 20 nations. Thornton's PLC initiative is amassed in Europe (areas where monetary hazard is constrained, wages are high and development possibilities are powerful) through the advancement of solid brands, the HOD business, and acquisitions that offer genuine open doors for collaboration. In 1999 Thornton's PLC worked from 509 industrial facilities around the world, 424 are in uncommon chocolates and toffee items. Unique chocolates represented 28% of 1999 incomes; 26%; chocolate and candy parlor, 54% are in toffee. With a net benefit of 4.724 million, up 12.3 percent over a year ago, and with critical, wide based improvement in all significant presentation markers, Thorntons PLC thinks back on a record year 1999. The net revenue arrived at 6.3 percent (5.9 percent in 1998) on combined deals of 74 660 million (1998: 71 747 million). The exchanging benefit of 7 914 million expanded by 11.8 percent, an edge of 10.6 percent of deals (9.9 percent in 1998). EBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes and Amortization) improved by 12.4 percent to 8 298 million (1998: 7 382 million). These significant enhancements mirror a progression of measures assumed control over the previous years, contacting for all intents and purposes all exercises (Mitchell, 2002). Smoothing out the business portfolio, expanding operational productivity, modern rebuilding and progress in buying and flexibly chain the executives empowered the Group to accomplish higher benefits, edges and profit for contributed capital. Thornton's PLC additionally made the important ventures to guarantee future top-line development by putting resources into new items and reinforcing its brands and pieces of the overall industry. During the principal half of 2000, Thorntons PLC accomplished a huge increment in the two deals and overall revenues. Table shows that combined deals developed by 9.9 percent to 38.8 billion, with genuine inner development quickening to 4.5 percent, contrasted with 2.1 percent in a similar time of 1999. Exchanging benefit added up to 4296 million. This speaks to 11.1 percent of deals against 9.8 percent for the first 50% of 1999. Net benefit expanded to 2798 million or CHF 72.7 per share, bringing about a net overall revenue of 7.2 percent (5.9 percent in the primary portion of 1999). The solid deals execution mirrors the Group's accentuation on inner development. The edge enhancements result from progress accomplished in upgrading operational effectiveness, the smoothing out of the Group's item portfolio, mechanical rebuilding and some lower crude material costs which had the option to counterbalance higher bundling costs. Inside Growth and Currencies Push Up Sales Consolidated deal s, at 38.8 billion, were up 9.9 percent. At tantamount structure (barring acquisitions and divestitures) and at steady trade rates, deals rose by 4.9 percent (see table 1). Table 1. Thornton's PLC Figures for 1999-2002 Thornton's PLC Annual Report 2002 2001 2000(e) 1999(f) In a large number of CHF (aside from per share information) Merged deals 89 160 84 698 81 422 74 660 71 747 EBITA 10 940 9 987 9 911 8 700 7 606 as % of

The Battle of Khe Sanh in the Vietnam War

The Battle of Khe Sanh in the Vietnam War The Siege of Khe Sanh happened during the Vietnam War. The battling around Khe Sanh started January 21,â 1968,â and concluded around April 8, 1968. Armed forces and Commanders Partners: General William WestmorelandColonel David LowndsApprox. 6,000 men North Vietnamese: Vo Nguyen GiapTran Quy HaiApprox. 20,000-30,000 men Skirmish of Khe Sanh Overview In the late spring of 1967, American administrators educated of a development of Peoples Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) powers in the region around Khe Sanh in northwest South Vietnam. Reacting to this, the Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB), situated on a level in a valley of a similar name, was strengthened by components of the 26th Marine Regiment under Colonel David E. Lownds. Additionally, stations on the encompassing slopes were involved by American powers. While KSCB had an airstrip, its overland gracefully course was over the haggard Route 9, which drove back to the coast. That fall, a flexibly caravan was trapped by PAVN powers on Route 9. This was the last overland endeavor to resupply Khe Sanh until the next April. Through December, PAVN troops were seen in the zone, however there was small battling. With the expansion in foe movement, a choice was required in regards to whether to additionally strengthen Khe Sanh or relinquish the position. Surveying the circumstance, General William Westmoreland chose for increment the troop levels at KSCB. In spite of the fact that he was bolstered by the administrator of the III Marine Amphibious Force, Lieutenant General Robert E. Cushman, numerous Marine officials couldn't help contradicting Westmorelands choice. Many accepted that Khe Sanh was not important to the continuous tasks. In late December/early January, insight detailed the appearance of the 325th, 324th, and 320th PAVN divisions inside striking separation of KSCB. Accordingly, extra Marines were moved to the base. On January 20, the PAVN deserter alarmed Lownds that an assault was approaching. At 12:30 a.m. on the 21st, Hill 861 was assaulted by around 300 PAVN troops and KSCB was intensely shelled. While the assault was spurned, the PAVN warriors managed to break the Marine protections. The assault additionally uncovered the appearance of the 304th PAVN division in the region. To clear their flank, PAVN powers assaulted and overran Laotian soldiers at Ban Houei Sane on January 23, compelling the survivors to escape to the U.S. Exceptional Forces camp at Lang Vei. During this time, KSCB got its last fortifications: extra Marines and the 37th Army of the Republic of Vietnam Ranger Battalion. Persevering through a few overwhelming bombardments, the safeguards at Khe Sanh learned on January 29 that there would be no détente for the up and coming Tet occasion. To help the safeguard of the base, which had been named Operation Scotland, Westmoreland started Operation Niagara. This activity required the monstrous utilization of ethereal capability. Using an assortment of cutting edge sensors and forward air controllers, American airplane started beating PAVN positions around Khe Sanh. At the point when the Tet Offensive initiated on January 30, the battling around KSCB calmed. Battling in the region continued on February 7, when the camp at Lang Vei was invaded. Escaping from the scene, Special Forces units advanced toward Khe Sanh. Unfit to resupply KSCB via land, American powers conveyed required materials via air, evading an extraordinary gauntlet of PAVN against airplane fire. Eventually, strategies, for example, the Super Gaggle (which included the utilization of A-4 Skyhawk contenders to stifle ground fire) permitted helicopters to resupply the ridge stations while drops from C-130s conveyed merchandise to the principle base. On that night that Lang Vei was assaulted, PAVN troops attacked a perception post at KSCB. In the most recent seven day stretch of February, battling heightened when a Marine watch was trapped and a few assaults were propelled against the 37th ARVNs lines. In March, knowledge started seeing a mass migration of PAVN units from the region of Khe Sanh. Regardless of this, shelling proceeded and the bases ammo dump exploded for the second time during the battle. Squeezing out from KSCB, Marine watches drew in the foe on March 30. The following day, Operation Scotland was finished. Operational control of the territory went over to the first Air Cavalry Division for the execution of Operation Pegasus. Intended to break the attack of Keh Sanh, Operation Pegasus called for components of the first and third Marine Regiments to assault up Route 9 towards Khe Sanh. Then, the first Air Cavalry moved by helicopter to hold onto key territory includes along the line of advance. As the Marines propelled, engineers attempted to fix the street. This arrangement enraged the Marines at KSCB, as they didn't accept they should have been safeguarded. Hopping off on April 1, Pegasus met little obstruction as American powers moved west. The primary significant commitment happened on April 6, when daily long fight was pursued against a PAVN blocking power. Battling to a great extent closed with a three-day battle close Khe Sanh town. Troops connected up with the Marines at KSCB on April 8. After three days, Route 9 was pronounced open. Result Enduring 77 days, the attack of Khe Sanh saw American and South Vietnamese powers endure. At long last, there were 703 murdered, 2,642 injured, and 7 missing. PAVN misfortunes are not known with exactness yet are evaluated at between 10,000 to 15,000 dead and injured. Following the fight, Lownds men were assuaged and Westmoreland requested the base involved until he left Vietnam in June. His replacement, General Creighton Abrams, didn't accept that holding Khe Sanh was fundamental. He requested the base obliterated and surrendered soon thereafter. This choice earned the rage of the American press, who addressed why Khe Sanh must be safeguarded in January however was not, at this point required in July. Abrams reaction was that the then-current military circumstance not, at this point directed that it be held. Right up 'til the present time, it is muddled whether PAVN authority in Hanoi expected to take on a conclusive conflict at Khe Sanh, or if tasks in the zone were intended to div ert Westmoreland in the weeks prior to the Tet Offensive. Sources: Brush, Peter. Clash of Khe Sanh: Recounting the Battles Casualties. HistoryNet, June 26, 2007. Obscure. The Siege at Khe Sanh. PBS.

10 Avoidable Mistakes when Negotiating a Job Offer

10 Avoidable Mistakes when Negotiating a Job Offer If everything goes as planned, any recruitment process will go smoothly, starting from the time job descriptions were written and job advertisements were published or posted, until the time that the best and the right candidate for the job has been selected.However, there are bound to be snags along the way, and any recruiter worth her salt would know that issues are bound to crop up, and it will be up to her and the employing company to make sure these issues are dealt with swiftly and properly.This will ensure that the employee can be introduced and inducted into the organization at the soonest possible time, and start performing his job.Some of the issues may be major, while some may seem to be trivial or minor. Recruiters and hiring managers know that extending a job offer does not automatically receive an acceptance from the chosen candidate.After all, starting a new job is a major event in anyone’s life, so the candidate will definitely want to make sure that he is making the right decision. Thus, both sides have to be prepared to negotiate details about the job offer. © Shutterstock.com | TrazaIn this guide, we explore what the job offer includes and the 10 mistakes most people do when negotiating a job offer.THE JOB OFFERFor any jobseeker that has been pounding the pavement, pouring over hundreds of job postings and undergoing a battery of seemingly endless tests and job interviews, getting a job offer may sound like a dream come true. Chances are high that he will grab the first job offer that he gets, with no regard for the details. He thinks, “I got the job, and that’s all that matters. I’ll worry about the rest later.”This attitude is hardly ideal especially when, weeks, months or years down the road, you realize that you are not satisfied with your job, and you start regretting accepting the offer at the first chance you got, no questions asked. You start thinking up “if only” scenarios. If only you negotiated early on, before accepting the job offer, then you would not be in the quandary that you are currently in.It is also pos sible that, in the middle of a job search, you suddenly find yourself presented with three job offers from three different companies. Your first instinct may be to accept the one with the highest salary and benefits. Or, if you are averse to relocation, you will accept the offer from the company where your workplace will be close to your residence. The dilemma here will arise if, for example, the company closest to where offers a salary that is lower than you expected or wanted.This is where you should consider negotiating. After all, the final job offer that you accept â€" with terms that you and your future employer are in agreement over â€" will dictate how the next months and years of your career will go. Negotiate terms that are acceptable to both parties, and chances are high that the working relationship will be a fruitful one, and your career with the company will flourish.When we say negotiations with respect to job offers, the most logical conclusion that comes to mind wil l be that it would have something to do with the salary and the benefits and compensation package. That will not be entirely wrong, since most negotiations revolve around that issue. However, there are other terms of the job offer that may require negotiation, depending mostly on the circumstances of the selected candidate, as well as the employer.Just as in all negotiations, some succeed and some fail. In order to lessen the possibility of job offer negotiations failing, it is important to make sure that you do it properly, and that means avoiding the mistakes that are commonly committed by candidates in the process of negotiation. MISTAKES WHEN NEGOTIATING A JOB OFFER AND HOW TO AVOID THEM1. Not negotiating at allThis is the point that we have been trying to get to earlier. No matter how desperate you are to get a job, you should not accept the job offer blindly, without negotiating at all. When you think about it, not negotiating and accepting the offer right off the bat is proba bly the biggest mistake you will ever make. This is akin to signing a contract without going over the finer points.There are several possible reasons why some candidates do not negotiate at all.They have been job hunting for so long that they will settle for just about anything.They are too lazy to go over the terms of the offer.They do not know how to negotiate, or where to start.They think that the employer knows best, and trust that they will be treated fairly.They are afraid that negotiating, where they will state their terms, will make them look impolite and unprofessional in the eyes of the employer.Just by looking at the above reasons, it is clear that there is a common theme running through them, and that is the lack of preparation when it comes to negotiating.As for the issue on whether negotiating will reflect badly on you as a potential employee and will affect your chances of being hired, that is no longer a general rule. In fact, many employers frown on candidates that do not negotiate at all, because it gives them the impression that the candidate does not acknowledge his own, true worth or value. They will think that the candidate is unable to stand up for himself.Granted, there are some employers that do not accept negotiations by candidates, but they generally let the candidates know of that fact early on. It is in these cases where the candidate will decide whether the terms of the job offer are acceptable and therefore accept the offer, or look elsewhere for a better job opportunity, one where they get to have a hand in the negotiations.How to avoid this mistakeCreate your own “job-offer evaluation” checklist. Just as you prepared yourself for the job interviews and tests, you should also prepare yourself in case you receive a job offer.In this checklist, you should put down the terms or things that MUST come with the job in order for you to deem it acceptable. Keep in mind that the checklist should indicate the “minimum” that you wi ll accept. Examples of the common items that should be included in your checklist are:Minimum salary or level of compensation that you need. Of course, this should also be in accordance with prevailing rates, as prescribed by the law and industry standards.Benefits you expect to receive while on the job, such as health insurance, transportation allowance, meal allowance, and representation expenses, to name a few.Working conditions favorable to your current circumstances. Define the work hours that are most suitable to you. Do you need to relocate? Will the job entail daily commute to and from work? How are personal days, sick days, vacations and holidays accounted for?Employee programs and policies. Focus on how you will be able to avail of this plan and how you expect to benefit from it. Is there a retirement plan for employees? What are the policies on maternity and paternity leaves? On performance review and evaluation? Are there bonus or profit-sharing programs that you may be eligible for?Go over the terms of the job offer carefully and compare them with the items on your checklist. If the offer meets the minimum as stated on your checklist, then you may consider accepting the offer. If there are deviations, then those will be the focus of your negotiations.2. Not Asking for Time to Consider the OfferRemember when you had to go in for interviews, and sometimes you felt helpless, as if you were at the mercy of the hiring manager and the other interviewers? Well, guess what? Once you receive the job offer, there is a shift of power. You are now the one with the upper hand. The employer wants you, and they’re waiting for your word on whether you will accept the offer or not.The problem is that, mostly out of sheer excitement from getting a job offer, the candidate accepts immediately. It could also be because they are pressured into accepting right away. Do not fall for this bulldozer tactic that some employers use.How to avoid this mistakeAsk for some ti me to contemplate the job offer. Let them know that you have to go over the details to see if the terms are acceptable to you. This is your right.One reason you can give is because you need to consult with other people first.“Thank you for the job offer. If it is all right with you, I would like to discuss some of the logistics details with my family first. How about if I give you my decision on Friday?”Or you could just ask for time without giving any specific reason. After all, it is your right to go over the job offer.“I am truly grateful for this offer and opportunity to be part of your company. I wonder if I could have until Friday to get back to you about it.”3. Not Asking for a Job Offer in WritingVerbal job offers are all well and good, since hearing the words out loud makes the whole thing exciting. However, you should not accept, or even consider, a job offer if it is not written. Again, think of it along the lines of a contract. You do not want to enter into a con tract without the terms being written down, do you?The written job offer will contain â€" in black and white â€" what you will be getting if you accept the job. Unless you have a photographic memory and you can recall, verbatim, the terms spoken by the human resource manager when he gave you the offer over the phone, then you will have a difficult time keeping track of everything.How to avoid this mistakeAsk them politely for the details in a written offer.“Wow! Thank you for the offer, and I look forward to going over the details in the written offer before I can give my formal acceptance. When do you expect a response?”In many cases, however, you may also tell them outright (but still politely) that you will feel more comfortable reading the details in a written job offer before accepting.Here is an interesting workshop on negotiating your salary in the job interview. 4. Telling the Employer What You Will AcceptThis may be quite tricky, since there are employers and hiring man agers that ask applicants during the interview about their salary expectations, or how much salary they expect to receive if they are hired for the job. This is especially difficult for candidates with previous job history, since they may be asked about their salary history as well.Negotiating is about reaching a compromise, or getting to a point where both parties are agreeable. It is not about setting ultimatums, saying “pay me this much, and I will accept the offer”. This will only make you look arrogant, and likely to turn off the employer, to the point that he will withdraw the offer.How to avoid this mistakeDo not provide an exact amount or even a salary range when asked during the preliminary interviews. Doing so will give you less room to negotiate if you do get a job offer. In an applicant’s desire to be in the good graces of the interviewer or hiring manager, he may even quote a low figure.There is a tendency that, when the employer creates the offer, he will offer a salary within that range that you quoted. During the interview, it would be best to provide a non-committal answer, or one that will not box you in when the time to negotiate the job offer comes. Example:“I will need more information about the job and your company’s salary structure before I can have a confident discussion about salary. Maybe you can give me an idea how much you pay someone with my skills, experience and education in this position, and what range you have budgeted for it?”If you approach the recruitment process along those lines, you will have more room to move when negotiating the job offer.5. Telling the Employer How Much You NeedThe mere fact that you are receiving a job offer means that you have the skills, experience, education and other qualifications that are required for the job. The employer thinks you are suitable for the position. In short, the employer thinks that you will be of value to the company. Therefore, you should also show them that you k now your value.During negotiations, many candidates make the mistake of focusing on what they think and feel that they need or deserve, rather than their actual value, or what they have to offer in return to the employer.New graduates, for example, go into the job market saddled with student loans, so they are likely to negotiate based on how much they need. For example, the candidate has to pay $300 monthly for student loans, so he chose to negotiate a monthly salary of $1,000, when it is above and beyond what the position merits.How to avoid this mistakeDo your research before talking about salary during negotiations. If you go online, you can find various sources of information about salary rates applicable to various jobs, across industries. This should clue you in already.If you have previous job experiences, then you may also have an idea how much you are worth in that position. You should also look into the salary levels and salary negotiation policies of the employer, so tha t you will be in a more solid position when negotiating.6. Negotiating in Piece-MealEmployers want to hire new employees quickly, so they can start performing the job. However, they can only wait for a certain length of time for a candidate to decide whether to accept the job offer or not. One sure way to prolong the negotiation period â€" and make the employer withdraw the offer â€" is when the candidate negotiates multiple issues serially.This piece-meal negotiation can be very tedious and exhausting. Just when the employer thought you have resolved the issue, you raise another point for negotiation. It becomes tiring and, to be honest, annoying, because they might think that you are toying with them and showing blatant disrespect for their time.How to avoid this mistakeThis is why you should have the checklist. You can also prepare another document listing all your points for negotiation, thought out carefully so that you can present them all simultaneously.This is an example of bad serial negotiation:Candidate: I have one concern. I find the salary a bit low, considering my expertise. Can you increase it by 10%?The HR discusses it with management and, after a day, calls the candidate back.HR: I’m happy to inform you that management has agreed the 10% increase.Candidate: Thank you. Now let us move on to the working hours. I know you have a 9-5 policy, but may I be granted flexible time?At this point, the HR is probably annoyed, thinking about how you said, at the beginning, about your “one concern”. Tell him about all your concerns in one go. Do not worry that you will overwhelm him; he is prepared for you to negotiate.7. HagglingThis is not a store, and you are not bartering. The employer tells you that the annual salary for that position is $150,000, and you thought you deserve more, so you ask for $175,000. The employer expresses the possibility that they may be able to provide $160,000 for the position, then you jump in with $165,000. When he said that $165,000 is already over their budget for that role, you ask for more vacation days.Let’s face it: this looks tacky. You just made yourself look tacky, cheap… and unprofessional.How to avoid this mistakeAgain, you should have already researched on the salary for that position, and how much budget the company allotted for it. Name your target figure, and ask whether it is within their budget range or not. If they say no, then believe them.Take this exchange, for example:Candidate: I am aware that you have budgeted $150,000 for the position. However, I believe that my level of experience warrants a higher rate, should I accept the job.HR: How much do you have in mind?Candidate: Can you make it $165,000?HR: Due to budget constraints and limitations, we can only go as high as $160,000.Candidate: I see. Then, may I give you my answer on Friday? 8. Playing Hard to GetMany say that, if you appear too eager or too excited, then you are basically putting yourself under the thumb of the employer making the offer. They’d think, “Oh, he really, really wants this job, so even if we make a low offer, he will definitely accept it.” As a result, candidates avoid appearing too enthusiastic about it and try to be low-key.The problem is that, in the process, they come across as disinterested. They are playing hard to get, and this will make the employer think that they are holding out for more. Not that this is necessarily bad, but if overdone, the employer may be turned off, thinking they cannot be bothered to woo or court you. Then they are likely to rescind their offer, or withdraw it completely.How to avoid this mistakeShow just the right amount of enthusiasm. You don’t know how to gauge it? Let’s put it this way: there is nothing wrong with letting them know how excited you are that you got an offer.However, by telling them that you will need to go over the details first, and that you are asking for time to contemplate the offer, this means you are givin g it serious consideration. Give them a definite time frame within which to evaluate the offer.Do not be evasive about what you want, expecting the HR officer or the employer to be able to read your mind.9. Negotiating Every Aspect of the Job OfferYou may think that the employer will be impressed if you come up with a counteroffer proposal, or negotiating ALL the points or aspects of the job offer. Believe me, you’re not. They may think that you are a nitpicker, and very hard to please, if all aspects do not satisfy you.How to avoid this mistakeChoose just two or three items to negotiate, and they should be the most important to you.However, if none meet the items on your checklist, then this may be a sign that this is not even a job offer worth contemplating or considering. Respect the employer by telling them that you are not accepting their offer, instead of wasting both your time.10. Negotiating Over E-mailWhile it is true that e-mail has become an acceptable mode of communica tion or correspondence in business and professional circles, it has its limitations. Remember the time when snail mail was the only mode of correspondence, and it takes ages to send letters and wait for replies and, even then, the exchange of information is unsatisfactory?Although email cuts down the time, there are still many messages that get lost in the exchange, which can have adverse effects on negotiation. A  lot of misunderstandings may still arise from negotiations made via email.How to avoid this mistakeNegotiate face-to-face. Set a meeting with the employer or his representative. Talking with them directly will make the negotiation go faster. Video calls also made it possible for people from opposite ends of the continent (or the globe) to converse, so this is another good option. Finally, negotiating over the phone is also possible if the two cannot be done.

John Cage - Music Of Silence - 992 Words

John Cage – Music in Silence When the word music is heard, generally the first thing that comes to mind is how one would be able to relate to the piece. John Cage, a contemporary composer, expanded the normality of music by sounds with no meaning or emotional connection and silence. The propinquity between mind and music is difficult to sever, and to have music without an emotional connection is unfathomable. John Milton Cage Jr. is an American contemporary composer born September 05, 1912 in Los Angeles, California. (cite) Cage attended Pomona College in Claremont, California momentarily before returning back to Los Angeles. (cite) His return was due to following his mentor, a classical composer by the name of Arnold Schoenberg. (cite) Due to Cage not paying for his lessons, it is difficult to say what classes he attended. (Hicks 128) Between 1935 and 1936, Schoenberg taught at both the University of Southern California and the University of California. (Hicks 128) The clas ses consisted of composition, harmony, analysis and counterpoint. (Hicks 128) Many of Cage’s earlier compositions are based on the teachings of Schoenberg. The compositions of Solo Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions on the Subjects of the Solo (1934) and Composition for Three Voices (1934), are both similar pieces to music of that time. Each voice in the piece is limited to a range of two octaves. Cage tried to space the repetitions of the tones as far asShow MoreRelatedThe Sound of Silence Discussion Essays1237 Words   |  5 Pagesdefines silence, as being an absence of a sound or noise, but for John Cage this could not be farther from the truth. Most people would agree with the dictionary definition that no noise is silence but Cage believed that silence is sound. Cage was not only a great composer but is known for his odd perspective and philosophy on silence and sound. 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This essay will examine how the artists demonstrate that the creation of the work can derive from the destroy ing convention through their visions in their works. Robert RauschenbergRead MoreEars Have Walls by Steven Connor Essay1330 Words   |  6 Pagesthe continuing emphasis upon division and partition that continues to exist even in the most radically revisable or polymorphous gallery space, because sound spreads and leaks, like odour. Unlike music, Sound Art usually does not require silence for its proper presentation. Containers of silence called music rooms resonate with the aesthetics and affects on the body of a gallery space; white walls, floorboards to create optimum acoustics, and an ethereal sense of time and space. When presented in a

Converting Fluid Ounces to Milliliters

This example problem demonstrates how to convert fluid ounces to milliliters. Fluid ounces are a common U.S. liquid measure. Milliliters are a metric unit of volume.   Fluid Ounces to Milliliters Example Problem A soda can contains 12 fluid ounces of soda. What is this volume in milliliters? Solution First, start out with the conversion formula between fluid ounces and milliliters: 1 fluid ounce 29.57 milliliters Set up the conversion so the desired unit will be canceled out. In this case, we want milliliters to be the remaining unit. Volume in milliliters (volume in fluid ounces) x (29.57 milliliters/1 fluid ounce.) Volume in milliliters (12 x 29.57) milliliters Volume in milliliters 354.84 milliliters Answer A 12 fluid ounce soda can contains 354.82 milliliters. Its always a good idea to check your answer to make sure it makes sense. An answer in milliliters will be about 30 times the value in fluid ounces. If youre doing the conversion the other way, expect the value in ounces to be much smaller (one decimal point) than it was in milliliters.

Choice of Vertical Firm Boundaries Free Essays

ETC has been the dominating theoretical lens for analyzing firm boundary design choices. Further research reported several limitations to ETC. The Limitations Include low explanatory power of ETC In industries characterized by weak price competition (Nickering and Silverman 2003) and innovative environment (Welter and Evolves 2008) . We will write a custom essay sample on Choice of Vertical Firm Boundaries or any similar topic only for you Order Now The relationship between uncertainty and vertical integration has also been challenged (Dyer 1 996, Hotter 2005, schilling and statesman 2002, walker and Weber 1984, Welter and Evolves 2008). Other limitation of Tee’s explanatory power is its narrow level of analysis. ETC looks at â€Å"one transaction at a time†, therefore it neglects interdependencies of boundary choices and is not sufficient to explain the overall firm boundaries. A number of papers elaborated on that deficiency (e. G. Argyles and Liabilities 1 999, Parmigianino and Mitchell 2009). Capabilities approach provides a complementary explanation to understanding firm boundary choices. Tech (1986, 996) argues that decisions of firm scope are related to firm capabilities and profiting from them in the best way. Capabilities approach scholars propose that firms focus on functions that represent the core of their competitive advantage based on superior capabilities and resources formed over time as a result of path-dependent learning process, and outsource non-core capabilities (e. G. Aragua et al. 2003). Further they argue that firms tend to specialize in activities where they have some comparative advantage Cabooses How to cite Choice of Vertical Firm Boundaries, Papers

Throughout this class we have ... free essay sample

Throughout this class we have watched several movies, some movies I previously watched and some I had not. After taking this class I realized that as parents we need to monitor our children more closely with the things we allow them to see. Such movies like Shrek I thought was a kid friendly movie but when I watched it, the first line that caught my attention was when Lord Farquaad was looking for a queen to marry, and he referred to snow white as a woman living with seven men in the forest this is what people called adult humor (diversity in Disney films pg.2) I think that can be taken a totally different way, I also would have never thought that you can compare the lion king to how we live our lives each day. We are taught about good and bad, so I would have never considered that the pride lands where Mufasa and Simba lived can be compared to living in the suburbs, while the dark area where Scar and the hyenas lived could be compared to living in poverty. Or the fact that the lions from the pride lands look clean and well fed versus scar and the hyenas who looked dirty and malnourished. According to diversity in Disney films, Disney clearly imagined an audience that was white and that shared the ideologies of the hegemonic culture. This for example illustrates Disneys recognition of the social and racial positioning of its audience. (diversity in Disney films pg.93) The movie Moana (2016) was another one of Disneys biggest films, they tried to make sure that race was portrayed in the correct way since a lot of viewers felt that Disney dropped the ball when it came to movies like Aladdin and Pocahontas. The story based 3000 years ago in Polynesia, follows a 16-year-old girl named Moana who is the daughter of a Polynesian chief. Moana has always had a connection to the sea, but When a disaster threatens her island home, Moana, a born navigator, sets sail to save the people she will one day lead. embarking on a sea journey to retrieve an ancient artifact that has the power to create new islands and oceans. This mystical object, known as the Heart of Te Fiti, was stolen centuries ago by Maui, a demigod of the wind and sea. Encouraged by her grandmother, and accompanied by a rooster named Hei Hei, Moana sets out to track down the demigod and restore the Heart of Te Fiti to its rightful place. Now even though Disney spent five years researching and working with the people in the Pacific to make sure they were portrayed in the film correctly, some viewers still felt that the culture was represented in the wrong way. For example, the way the character Maui was painted he fit the misappropriation that all pacific island men are big in stature or obese, this depiction of Maui being obese is typical American stereotyping. In an interview with The Washington Post, Marie Alohalani Brown, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoas department of religion who is part Hawaiian, said that, in Hawaiian mythology, Maui isnt seen as a god in the Judeo-Christian sense. Instead, as a demigod, he h as both godly and human characteristics, and is viewed as an ancestor to the exalted, ruling class of Hawaii. In one of Hawaiis most prominent creation myths, Maui is known for passing on the secret of fire to humans, drawing the Hawaiian archipelago together and slinging the sun so that it moves more slowly. Hes a cultural hero and trickster. (Washington post 2016) When it came to the characters Disney used, they made sure the whole cast except for hei hei the rooster was of Polynesian decent. Unlike other Disney characters Moana is not a princess, but she is the daughter of Chief Tui which means she is next in line to become the chief of her tribe, a tradition that does not happen all the chief are men. She also has no love interest which would make one think she was a feminist, a lot of the other Disney princess were also dressed more provocatively than Moana. Disney often made the female characters very sexy like Ariel from the little mermaid she only wore seashells for a bikini top. after observing different movies, I realized a lot of the female roles have women that are scantily dressed, or the body shape is the same curvy breast, hips, and an unrealistically small waist. The females from the renaissance period like, Pocahontas (1995) and Mulan (1998), offer us fiercely independen t women. Mulan poses as a man in the Chinese Army so that she can enter the world of work in lieu of her frail father. But when offered the opportunity to enter permanent work at the end of the film as part of the emperors inner circle, Mulan turns the offer down and returns to her village. Similarly, after bringing peace to her community. Zootopias (2016) fiercely independent and ambitious female character, Judy Hopps – the citys first bunny rabbit police officer – builds on this. She works hard within her police precinct to be recognized as an equal amongst her male counterparts despite experiencing extreme discrimination at the hands of her boss. She is told that she will only ever be a meter maid but eventually proves them all wrong and gains her place as a bunny among equals. (independantnews. com December 2016) This is far different from the earlier Disney females like snow white and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) we initially encounter the princess as a scullery maid – dominated by her wicked stepmother – sullenly lifting pales of water from the well. She escapes only to find herself confronted with further dirty and monotonous labor playing roommate to the dwarves. A decade on, we find Cinderella (1950) in a house with her wicked stepmother and sisters being subjected to a life scrubbing floors wishing for a better life. And in Sleeping Beauty (1959), a whole industry is destroyed simply to protect the princess, Aurora, from a fatal prick to the finger from a spinning wheel foreseen by the evil witch Maleficent. Three fairy godmothers care for the young princess but ultimately give away their secret, safe location – due to the sheer monotony of their life and work in the woods.The message is clear in these early films: women are weak and should avoid work at all costs. It is dangerous and monotonous and unrewarding. These female characters need to be protected, rescued and defended from the world of work by men and generally find their solace as kept women. (independantnews.com December 2016). In conclusion after researching and watching the films I listed I am happy that I can see the change Disney studios has made along the years when it comes to gender sexuality, and the way women are portrayed in the films. I still think they can get a little better when it comes to race and ethnicity but as we see with the princess and the frog they are trying. Hopefully as time passes we will see more and more films with an even broader diverse background.

Best Summary and Analysis The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9

Best Summary and Analysis The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Just as The Great Gatsbybegan with Nick’s father reminding him about his upbringing, so it ends with Gatsby’s father reminding us about the childhood of James Gatz (Gatsby's real birth name). As one of the few mourners at Gatsby’s very sparsely attended funeral, Mr. Gatz worships his son’s achievements in the way that no one whom Gatsby wanted to impress ever did. The Great GatsbyChapter 9ends with one of the most famous last lines in all Western literature. Read on to see how Fitzgerald connects Gatsby’s story with theuniversal human hope for a better future. Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. The Great Gatsby: Chapter 9 Summary The police investigation reduces what happened to the simplest possible terms: that Wilson was deranged by grief and killed Gatsby at random. Myrtle’s sister doesn’t tell the police about Myrtle having an affair. Rumors again swirl around Gatsby, and uninvited people again come to his mansion to gawk at where the murder-suicide happened (just like when they came to gawk at his parties).Nick is the only person who is still interested in Gatsby as a human being, and becomes a kind of representative for him - both about the rumors, and also about the logistics of dealing with his body and effects. Daisy and Tom have already left with no forwarding address by the time Nick tries to call them about Gatsby’s death. Nick tries to find Wolfshiem, but can’t get in touch with him. Wolfshiem sends a perfunctory-sounding letter, but at least agrees to come to Gatsby’s funeral. Nick answers the phone at Gatsby’s house, expecting it to be Daisy, but instead it is someone associated with Gatsby’s criminal enterprise. We get a quick idea that Gatsby was indeed doing something bigger than bootlegging - something to do with stolen or counterfeit bonds. The man hangs up without another word when Nick tells him that Gatsby is dead. Three days later, Nick gets a telegram from Henry C. Gatz - Gatsby’s father. He read about Gatsby’s death in a Chicago newspaper and is coming to the funeral from Minnesota. When Mr. Gatz shows up, it’s clear that he is still pretty poor. He is in awe of what his son has been able to accomplish, and clearly loves him very much. Gatz is clearly all in on the idea of the American Dream, comparing Gatsby to a famous rags-to-riches railroad magnate. When Gatz asks Nick to identify himself, Nick calls himself Gatsby’s close friend. That night, Ewing Klipspringer, the guy who crashed at Gatsby’s for most of the summer, calls. Nick assumes that he’ll be coming to the funeral, but Klipspringer is only calling to get back a pair of shoes he left behind. The day of the funeral, Nick goes to see Meyer Wolfshiem in person. Wolfshiem’s secretary lies and says that Wolfshiem is Chicago, but when Nick mentions Gatsby’s name, he’s shown into Wolfshiem’s office. Wolfshiem fills in some more details about Gatsby’s past. After Gatsby got out of the army, he met Wolfshiem at a pool hall and asked for a job. Wolfshiem saw the potential in Gatsby’s good looks and his â€Å"Oxford man† aspirations. Gatsby used these qualities to make connections in places where Wolfshiem himself couldn’t get in. Wolfshiem explains that he can’t come to Gatsby’s funeral - he doesn’t want to be anywhere near a crime scene. Back at the mansion, Mr. Gatz shows Nick a picture of the Gatsby’s mansion that Gatsby had sent back home. He also shows him a western that Gatsby had loved to read. The back page has a schedule Gatsby had written for himself to follow, and a list of self-improvement initiatives he had undertaken. No one seems to be coming to the funeral, and it starts to rain, so Nick, Mr. Gatz, and the minister drive to the cemetery.The man with the owl-eyed glasses (the one who had been marveling at Gatsby’s library of unread books in Chapter 3) suddenly shows up to mourn with them. Nick doesn’t know either his name or how he knew to be there. Nick flashes back to a childhood memory of coming home from boarding school. He compares the Midwest that he (and Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy) come from to the East coast where they each made so many mistakes. Nick decides that he is fundamentally a Midwesterner and needs to go back. Nick goes to hash things out with Jordan. When she tells him that she’s engaged (which seems unlikely, since it’s only been one week since they broke up), he suddenly wants to get back together, but thinks better of it. She does tell Nick that she felt very hurt when he broke up with her, but she seems completely over it. Jordan calls Nick out on his self-satisfaction with being scrupulously honest - was he dishonest with her about his feelings? Several months later, Nick sees Tom in Manhattan and refuses to shake hands with him. Nick asks Tom what Tom told Wilson in the garage the night Myrtle was killed. Tom fesses up that he told Wilson whose car ran over Myrtle (which answers the mystery of how Wilson was able to find Gatsby). Tom argues that telling Wilson the truth would have put Tom in danger, since Wilson had a gun. Nick is horrified - after all, it wasn’t Gatsby who ran over Myrtle. It was Daisy. But he realizes that Tom is a spoiled child and tries to let his anger go. Gatsby’s mansion goes to seed. Before he leaves New York for good, Nick scrapes an obscene word off itsstairs, and then goes to the dock to think about the green light on Daisy’s dock and Gatsby’s hopes and dreams. Nick thinks about what this island looked like to Dutch sailors who crossed the Atlantic, and thinks about how we live in the perpetual hope of a better future with a total disregard for the past. Despite his lavish parties, despite all the outlandish rumors about him, Gatsby never really earned the respect of anyone except Nick. Key Chapter 9 Quotes I found myself on Gatsby's side, and alone. From the moment I telephoned news of the catastrophe to West Egg village, every surmise about him, and every practical question, was referred to me. At first I was surprised and confused; then, as he lay in his house and didn't move or breathe or speak hour upon hour it grew upon me that I was responsible, because no one else was interestedinterested, I mean, with that intense personal interest to which every one has some vague right at the end. (9.3) Just like during his life, after his death, rumors swirl around Gatsby. Usually, death makes people treat even the most ambiguous figures with therespect that’s supposedly owed to the dead. But Gatsby’sdeathonly invites more speculation, gawking, and a circus-like atmosphere. Note that even here, Nick still does not acknowledge his feelings of friendship and admiration for Gatsby. Instead, he claims to be the point person for Gatsby is funeral because of a general sense that â€Å"everyone† deserves someone to take a personal interest. But of course, there is no such right, as evidenced by the fact that Nick is the only person who cares about Gatsby as a human being rather than a sideshow. After a little while Mr. Gatz opened the door and came out, his mouth ajar, his face flushed slightly, his eyes leaking isolated and unpunctual tears. He had reached an age where death no longer has the quality of ghastly surprise, and when he looked around him now for the first time and saw the height and splendor of the hall and the great rooms opening out from it into other rooms his grief began to be mixed with an awed pride. (9.43) Gatsby’s father is the only person who has the kind of response to this mansion that Gatsby could have hoped for. Everyone else has found it either gaudy, vulgar, or fake. Perhaps this shows that for all his attempts to cultivate himself, Gatsby could never escape the tastes and ambitions of a Midwestern farm boy. After that I felt a certain shame for Gatsbyone gentleman to whom I telephoned implied that he had got what he deserved. However, that was my fault, for he was one of those who used to sneer most bitterly at Gatsby on the courage of Gatsby's liquor and I should have known better than to call him. (9.69) Gatsby was unable to parlay his hospitality into any genuine connection with anyone besides Nick, who seems to have liked him despite the parties rather than because of them. This highlights a clash of values between the new, anything-goes East and the older, more traditionally correct West. The East is a place where someone could come to a party and then insult the host - and then imply that a murdered man had it coming! Compare this to the moment when Gatsby feels uneasy making a scene when having lunch with Tom and Daisy because "I can't say anything in his house, old sport." (7.102). "When a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it in any way. I keep out. When I was a young man it was differentif a friend of mine died, no matter how, I stuck with them to the end. You may think that's sentimental but I mean itto the bitter end†¦.Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead," he suggested. "After that my own rule is to let everything alone." (9.95-99) Wolfshiem’s refusal to come to Gatsby’s funeral is extremely self-serving. He is using this quasi-philosophical excuse in order to protect himself from being anywhere near a crime scene. However, in a novel which is at least partly concerned with how morality can be generated in a place devoid of religion, Wolfshiem’s explanation of his behavior confirms that the culmination of this kind of thinking is treating people as disposable. It also plays into the novel’s overriding idea that the American Dream is based on a willful desire to forget and ignore the past, instead straining for a potentially more exciting or more lucrative future. Part of forgetting the past is forgetting the people that are no longer here, so for Wolfshiem, even a close relationship like the one he had with Gatsby has to immediately be pushed to the side once Gatsby is no longer alive. I tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment but he was already too far away and I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn't sent a message or a flower. Dimly I heard someone murmur "Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on," and then the owl-eyed man said "Amen to that," in a brave voice. (9.6) The theme of forgetting continues here. For Nick, Gatsby the man is already â€Å"too far away† to remember distinctly. Perhaps it is this kind of forgetting that allows Nick to think about Daisy without anger. On the one hand, in order to continue through life, you need to be able to separate yourself from the tragedies that have befallen. But on the other hand, this easy letting go of painful memories in the past leads to the kind of abandonment that follows Gatsby’s death. When we pulled out into the winter night and the real snow, our snow, began to stretch out beside us and twinkle against the windows, and the dim lights of small Wisconsin stations moved by, a sharp wild brace came suddenly into the air. We drew in deep breaths of it as we walked back from dinner through the cold vestibules, unutterably aware of our identity with this country for one strange hour before we melted indistinguishably into it again. That's my middle westnot the wheat or the prairies or the lost Swede towns but the thrilling, returning trains of my youth and the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark and the shadows of holly wreaths thrown by lighted windows on the snow. I am part of that, a little solemn with the feel of those long winters, a little complacent from growing up in the Carraway house in a city where dwellings are still called through decades by a family's name. I see now that this has been a story of the West, after allTom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life. (9.124-125) All along, the novel has juxtaposed the values and attitudes of the rich to those of the lower classes. However here, in this chapter, as Nick is starting to pull away from New York, the contrast shifts to comparing the values of the Midwest to those of the East. Here, the dim lights, the realness, and the snow are natural foils for the bright lights and extremely hot weather associated in the novel with Long Island and the party scene. They were careless people, Tom and Daisythey smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. . . . (9.146) Nick’s summary judgment of Tom and Daisy seems harsh but fair. They are people who do not have to answer for their actions and are free to ignore the consequences of what they do. This is one of the ways in which their marriage, dysfunctional as it is, works well. They both understand that they just don’t need to worry about anything that happens in the same way that everyone else does. It is interesting to consider how this cycle will perpetuate itself with Pammy, their daughter. On the last night, with my trunk packed and my car sold to the grocer, I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more. On the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy with a piece of brick, stood out clearly in the moonlight and I erased it, drawing my shoe raspingly along the stone. Then I wandered down to the beach and sprawled out on the sand. (9.150) It’s fitting that Nick feels responsible for erasing the bad word. His whole project in this book has been to protect Gatsby's reputation and to establish his legacy. Otherwise, without someone to notice and remark on Gatsby’s achievement, nothing would remain to indicate that this man had managed to elevate himself from a Midwesternfarm to glittering luxury. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no mattertomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. (9.153-154) Check out our very in-depth analysis of this extremely famous last sentence, last paragraphs, and last section of the book. Think about the amount of effort involved in this process of constantly sailing against the current. Maybe this is the fundamental mismatch between Gatsby and Daisy. She is a creature of passivity, and he is a swan - gliding gracefully above the water, while paddling furiously just below it to stay afloat. The Great Gatsby Chapter 9 Analysis Let's now consider how the novel's key themes are addressed in this chapter. Themes and Symbols The American Dream. Gatsby’s dreams might be over, and Nick might be so disillusioned that he goes back home, but the American Dream persists unabated. On the one hand, the boys who cluster around Gatsby’s mansion are a new generation who are starting to buy into the cult of celebrity and the greedy ambition that propels many of the novel’s characters. On the other hand, Jordan’s ability to wave off the past without a second thought seems to be spreading - Wolfshiem and even Nick himself talk about quickly forgetting Gatsby. Mutability of Identity. Conversely, the inability to escape the past also plays a part in this chapter, as we learn that for Nick, this has been a story of Midwesterners trying to go east and failing. Most importantly, the last line of the novelsays that despite the fact that we struggle to move upstream, the current of our past is always working against our forward progress. Plot-wise, too, the last chapter is full of callbacks to the past. We meet up with characters who we thought were gone for good (Tom and Jordan), we get yet one more digressive explanation of Gatsby’s youth from Wolfshiem, and of course Gatsby’s actual past shows up in the figure of his father, Henry Gatz. Mr. Gatz is floored by what his son has made of himself. Very importantly, he is the only person who has the reaction that Gatsby would have wanted to his mansion, and he is the one who comes with a relic of Gatsby’s youthful dreams (the schedule and list of self-improvement resolutions). Symbols: The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. The return of the man with owl eye glasses links this chapter to the novel’s obsession with eyes and seeing. Like Tom, Owl-Eyes immediately saw through Gatsby at the party - but crucially, Owl-Eyes perceived Gatsby’s false front as an example of a genius bit of theater rather than a lie. Like the giant billboard of disembodied eyes that haunts the ashheaps, Owl-Eyes seems to be able to see more than the average - but, importantly, he is actually able to render a judgment since he is sentient. At Gatsby’s funeral, this clear vision is clouded, as Owl-Eyes is constantly wiping fog off his glasses. And the fact that the man comes to mourn Gatsby seems to indicate that his judgment is a merciful, excusing one. Do the glasses make him wise like an owl? Predatory? All-seeing? Or does the fact that they are glasses mean that he doesn’t actually have any wisdom or clear sight? Crucial Character Beats Nick tries to find anyone at all to come to Gatsby’s funeral, but fails. Not even Wolfshiem will come. Daisy and Tom have left town for good, with no forwarding address. Henry Gatz, Gatsby’s father, hears about Gatsby’s death and come to the funeral from Minnesota. He is in awe of his son’s accomplishments. No one except the owl-eyed glasses man that Nick had met at one of Gatsby’s parties comes to the funeral. Nick reconnects briefly with Jordan, who tell him that she is engaged. Nick runs into Tom, who admits telling Wilson that it was Gatsby’s car that hit Myrtle. Nick decides to go back to the Midwest. What’s Next? Solvethe final pieces of the puzzle of Gatsby’s pastwiththe novel’s timeline. Consider the way this last chapter discusses the existence of the American Dream. Is the kind of hope and optimism that this ideal promotes worthwhile, or does it result in self-delusions and disappointment? Imagine the rest of Nick’s life by analyzing his character, motivations, and attitudes. Has this whole novel in reality been a coming-of-age story about him? Revisit the summary of Chapter 8or wrap back around to see how the novel began. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Free Essays on Higher ED

The Role of Higher Education People view higher education from many different perspectives. For some, it is a pathway to a career. For others, it is an opportunity to learn more about oneself. I believe that the purpose of higher education is to facilitate intellectual growth that will enable the individual to become an active citizen of the world and to prepare the learner for success in a chosen profession.. Therefore, I think teachers are here to teach, but also to dedicate themselves and their resources to assisting students in achieving the ultimate success as inquisitive learners, engaged and thoughtful citizens, and caring and competent professionals. The first step in the journey toward intellectual wisdom through higher education requires the critical examination of oneself. No one perspective offers the answers to questions that face us in the twenty-first century. Broad cultural and intellectual perspectives presented through the arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences are the pathways to understanding the complexities of our world, our professions, and our communities. Developing a broad perspective of the world relies on an exchange of ideas from a variety of sources that are not strictly related to one's profession. I believe most university campuses strive to unite the wisdom of general education and the knowledge of professional preparation into an integrated process of true learning through higher education.... Free Essays on Higher ED Free Essays on Higher ED The Role of Higher Education People view higher education from many different perspectives. For some, it is a pathway to a career. For others, it is an opportunity to learn more about oneself. I believe that the purpose of higher education is to facilitate intellectual growth that will enable the individual to become an active citizen of the world and to prepare the learner for success in a chosen profession.. Therefore, I think teachers are here to teach, but also to dedicate themselves and their resources to assisting students in achieving the ultimate success as inquisitive learners, engaged and thoughtful citizens, and caring and competent professionals. The first step in the journey toward intellectual wisdom through higher education requires the critical examination of oneself. No one perspective offers the answers to questions that face us in the twenty-first century. Broad cultural and intellectual perspectives presented through the arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences are the pathways to understanding the complexities of our world, our professions, and our communities. Developing a broad perspective of the world relies on an exchange of ideas from a variety of sources that are not strictly related to one's profession. I believe most university campuses strive to unite the wisdom of general education and the knowledge of professional preparation into an integrated process of true learning through higher education....

Employee Motivation in the Management Field of Google Inc Case Study

Employee Motivation in the Management Field of Google Inc - Case Study Example Mansar and Reijers (2007) reckon that management in an organization should ensure effective communication, employee motivation, and alignment of employee activities to the achievement of the organization’s objectives. This can be construed to mean that management is not the handling of machines/automated program, but handling humans through communication, and an assenting enterprise endeavor. This paper seeks to elucidate on an issue of employee motivation in the management field. This will be achieved by conducting a case study on one of the largest corporation in the world (Google) while linking management theories to management practices in that corporation. Google is an American conglomerate, which specializes in providing internet-based services such as search engine service, cloud computing, manufacture and sale of software, as well as online marketing services. Most of Google’s profits come from Ad-Words. Its hasty growth since incorporation has elicited production of a series of merchandises, multiple acquisitions, and mergers. As a result, Google is one of the corporations with the largest employee base in the world of around 37,000 in 40 countries. Contemporary conglomerates are relentlessly coming up with new management techniques to acquire top talent, keep hold of that top talent, and come up with imaginative ways to keep them motivated so as to achieve paramount productivity in their respective industries. This essay investigates how Google Inc uses management techniques to motivate its employees to become top-producing individuals who can formulate preeminent ideas and products. The essay will explore how Google Inc has structured its management so as to endow its employees with the best environment and how it motivates them with intrinsic and extrinsic techniques.  

Module 5 BHS427 Health Care Finance (AUG2014-1) Capital Budgeting Essay

Module 5 BHS427 Health Care Finance (AUG2014-1) Capital Budgeting (CASE) - Essay Example is referred to as the time it takes a firm to recover its initial cash expenditure from the cash inflow it gets from a certain project or investment. Academics usually advocate the NPV method followed by IRR measure. The payback period method serves as a supplementary tool to decision making. The payback period is quite attractive, but its shortcomings make it less practically relevant. Its shortcomings include; the lack of consideration of the time value of money that can influence wrong decision-making and, it also ignores any cash flows which accrue after the payback period. Despite its shortcomings, the payback period method is still used by firms in appraising capital budgeting decisions (Avery, 2011). The continual use of the payback period by firms and managers implies that there is value realized from its results. Thus, considering a constant growth rate of cash flows the payback period can be calculated by using two main factors of cash flow. The factors are â€Å"the ratio (I) of the initial outlay to the next period projected cash flow, and the projected cash flow growth rate (g)† (Avery, 2011., p.1). Therefore, if the payback period is negatively associated to g and positively related to the ratio I, the management is at a better position to evaluate the expenses and gains of a certain project. Money time value can be adjusted via the discounted cash flows. This approach suggests that there is an expected constant growth in cash flows; choosing the value of g depends on existing knowledge of the activity and foresight of a firm. The ratio I will be the initial investment divided by 1. The cash flow is also assumed to be growing â€Å"at a constant rate of g percent per period.† Thus from calculations the payback period (T) is directly proportional to I, and inversely proportional to g. That is; a high value of I imply a high initial investment cost as compared to the projected first period cash flow. Hence, an investor will take a longer time to

Essay about Makkah

Essay about Makkah Mecca is a holy place of Muslims in Saudi Arabia where it is believed that the prophet Muhammad lived and taught more than 1,300 years ago. Mecca is the holiest city in Islam. Mecca had become an important place in the history by the time when Prophet Mohammed (peace is upon him)  was born in about 570 AD. Mecca, the holy place has fallen with yearly ebb and flow of pilgrims as a result of growing Muslim community in the World and eventually the spread of Islam. The economic status of the city greatly depends on the large number of pilgrims visiting every year and their accommodation, feeding and transportation. (Ahmed Z.U. 1992). Prophet Mohammed (peace is upon him) was born in Makkah and was descended with the Holy Quran, and since then the propagation for Islam was launched. In the heart of the city is the Holy Mosque in the centre of which the Holy Kaaba is located, The Maqam of Prophet Ibrahim, his son Ismaiels stone (May God bless them), Zamzam well in which water has been pouring from hundreds of years, and Safa and Marwah where Muslims make Saie. There are other holy shrines of Mina, Muzdalifa, and Arafat near Makkah. Arafat is located at the Mount Arafat where pilgrims perform the main ritual of Hajj as the day of Arafat. Hajj is scheduled according to the lunar calendar and so moves 11 days earlier each year on the Gregorian calendar. Due to seasonal variation over time, the Hajj occurs at different times each year (Yamin M. et al 2009). It becomes difficult in summers as the temperatures in Saudi Arabia are very high. Unlike other Saudi Arabian cities, Mecca retains its warm temperature in winter, which can range from 17  Ã‚ °C at midnight to 25  Ã‚ °C in the afternoon. Summer temperatures are considered very hot and break the 40  Ã‚ °C mark in the afternoon dropping to 30  Ã‚ °C (86  Ã‚ °F) in the evening. Rain usually falls in Mecca in small amounts between November and January. Tourism at Mecca Mecca, the holy city in Saudi Arabia is believed to be the centre of the Islamic world. The journey to Mecca as the Hajj is popular to the Muslims all over the world but the Mecca travel is forbidden for non-Muslims. There are billions of people coming to Mecca for Hajj from all over the world. The Hajj in Mecca is the largest pilgrimage in the world. The Mecca city is Saudi Arabia is increasingly called Makkah. It is similar to the pronunciation of the Arabic word than does the English translation called Mecca. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the premises of Mecca, Saudi Arabia at any time of the year due to the fact that the Mecca travel and the Hajj are only intended for Muslims. It has happened in the past that several non-Muslims have entered Mecca; the penalties of it are quite harsh including deportation and jail time. Tourism in Mecca involves some advance planning. There is a special visa required by every Muslim who wishes to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. There is a valid visa required to enter the Hajj grounds. In case of Saudi citizens, permission is necessary. The foreign pilgrims intend to perform Hajj applies for a visa by furnishing information and undergoing some medical examination. The visa is granted by Saudi government by approval of the Hajj management in Saudi Arabia. Each pilgrim is assigned to a group of Hajj management called Munazzim once their visa is granted. Munnazim is responsible for their travel and accommodation arrangements in the Hejaz (Yamin M. et al 2009). In addition, a letter from the local mosque stating that the person is a Muslim is also required. Women who are under 45 years of age must travel with a male or a mahram considered being the head of the family. There should be a proof of their relationship. On the other hand, women over 45 years of age must carry a permission letter from her husband or her father along with the proof her being a part of the Mecca tourism group. The visa to travel Mecca does not permit to travel outside of Mecca and if anyone wants to travel other cities, they must apply for additional visa. The pilgrimage to Mecca commence at the Jeddah airport, a large city in Saudi Arabia. As the tourism in Mecca is very popular during the Hajj month, there are two special terminals for the people arriving to Mecca. There are direct bus services from the airport to Mecca Saudi Arabia. On arrival to the city of Mecca, the Muslims have to follow traditional rituals, called Umrah. These traditions should be followed by all the pilgrims. The rituals that are acted out in the incidents of the Quran are relatively hard to perform or rather complex and takes about a week. It is important that the pilgrims must wear the traditional pilgrimage clothing followed by a walk in the region of the Kaaba in a counter clockwise direction several times. After this ritual, next comes Saey which factually means run whereby the pilgrims walk back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, the region where the wife of Prophet Abraham ran recklessly in search of water for her son. It has been written in Quran that there is a fountain that appears between the hills (Ahmed Z.U. 1992). Other rituals during the Hajj include going to Arafat. This is the the place where Mohammed gave his final sermon. The ritual is followed by drinking water from the Zamzam well which is inside the Great Mosque. It is believed by all the Muslims that their God provided water to Hajar and Ismail at this well when they were strolling in the desert. These two people are the central figures of Islam. Mecca travel is a meaningful once-in-a-lifetime experience for all the Muslims. Tourism issues There have been many tourism issues in Mecca that arise during the Hajj period. Many incidents have happened during the past years causing loss of hundreds of lives. It is estimated that there are 1.4 billion Muslims in the World and each one must visit Mecca for pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if they can. It is all the way very hard to manage millions of people in Mecca during the month of Hajj. Crowd Stampede Stampedes are likely to occur at the Hajj because of the huge crowd and an extraordinary pressure. The individuals may stumble thereby precipitating an entire stampede. Massive crowds walking from one place to the other place of the pilgrimage, cause a stampede. There is a panic when the pilgrims jostle to avoid being trampled resulting in hundreds of deaths. For example, the ceremony of stoning the Devil is very crowded and dangerous and so can result in serious crowd accidents. The following incidents occurred due to massive crowding at the Hajj. 2nd July, 1990 Arafat plains of Hajj: A stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel leading out from Mecca towards Mina, Saudi Arabia and the Plains of Arafat led to the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims. 23rd May, 1994 270 pilgrims were killed in crowd during the stoning of the Devil. 9th April, 1998 Incident at Jamarat Bridge where 118 pilgrims died and 180 were injured. 5th March, 2001 During the ritual of stoning the Devil, 35 pilgrims were trampled to death. 11th February, 2003 14 pilgrims died in a rush during the stoning of the Devil ceremony. 1st February, 2004 251 pilgrims were killed and 244 people were injured in a stampede during the stoning ceremony in Mina. 12th January, 2006 346 pilgrims were killed and more than 289 were injured in Mina on the last day of the Hajj while performing the ritual ramy al-jamarÄ t. Diseases Disease spread is also a tourism issue in Mecca. This could be explained on the fact that there are millions of people from many countries visiting Mecca, of which some of them may have poor health systems, leading to the spread of epidemics. If there is a disease outbreak during the Hajj, this could make the problem worse when they returned home and passing the infection on to others. There have been such incidents in the past where the disease has spread among the pilgrims causing severe health problems. One such disease, called meningitis has been given a prompted response from the Saudi government. There were many concerns about the disease after its international outbreak at Hajj in 1987. Due to these global outbreaks of certain types of meningitis in previous years, it is now a visa requirement to be immunised with the ACW135Y vaccine before arrival. Every year, the Saudi government publishes a list of required vaccines for pilgrims, which for 2010 also includes yellow fever, p olio, and influenza. Trauma and other fatal events The word Hajj defines movement. There is a lot of chaos in transportation during the Hajj. The pilgrimage moves on foot in dense traffic for hours at a time. During the Hajj season in Mecca, there is inordinate traffic congestion. Other issues in tourism are fire incidents that happened in previous years. December 1975 Fire due to explosion a gas cylinder in a tent resulted in the death of 200 pilgrims. 15th April, 1997 Fire in a tent in Mina killing 343 pilgrims and 1,500 injured. In order to prevent such dangerous incidents, the kingdom has replaced all the tents and the tents are now fireproof with a variety of which are made up of aluminium frames with fibreglass. The risk of fire is now considered much lower (Memish Z.A. et al 2002). Tourism management Management in Mecca during the Hajj, handling millions of people during a specific month is not an easy task. The officials of the government of the Saudi Arabia should have done more to prevent such catastrophes. It is claimed by the government of Saudi Arabia that such massive crowd are very dangerous and difficult to manage, and that they have taken a number of steps to prevent problems. There are improvements of touristic facilities at Jeddah, Mecca and Madinah. There have been number of steps undertaken to overcome the hurdles and the incidents in the past. One of the controversial significant steps in action inculcates new system of registrations, passports, and visas to control the mass flow of pilgrims. This system intends to encourage and accommodate visitors travelling for the first time to Mecca, while restricting repeat visits. Such a system was protested by the pilgrims who have the desire and wishes to perform the Hajj several times and they have been biased about this system, but the Hajj Commission has stated that they see no substitute if further incidents and disasters are to be prevented. As a result of the stampede in 2004, there have been concerns and considerations by the Saudi authorities. The authorities have aboard a big construction work in and around the Jamarat Bridge area. Additional access ways, footbridges, and emergency exits were built, and concrete walls were designed to replace the three cylindrical pillars allowing more pilgrims to have a simultaneous access to them without fighting for position and deprived of crowd. A multi-million-dollar project has been designed and put into action by the government to expand the bridge to five levels. For crowd management, many organizations are using RFID chips to track and monitor people and products. This high technology is an effective way of identifying and helping people in urgent situations (Yamin M. et al 2009). These RFID carry some PDA (readable data) which can be used for medical emergencies and for reporting lost pilgrims with their groups. The device should be linked to the event database so as to facilitate the retrieval and updates as and when required. The disease spreads and recent outbreaks of H1N1 virus (swine influenza and bird flu) have made the crowd management more challenging. For the management of diseases, as mentioned earlier, there are set of medical examinations and immunizations to be undergone by the pilgrims to be registered in the event database. Therefore, the management of Hajj can be sum up in three phases. Phase one is about the necessary planning to organize Hajj and to intend pilgrims before departure to Saudi Arabia. Second phase refers to the Hajj process whereby different management steps are undertaken to control the issues in way of the Hajj process and the last phase directs to the measures undertaken to facilitate smooth return of pilgrims to their respective destinations.

Humor in War Movies Essay

There is more than one way to get a point across in the movies. Movies based on actual events, movies made using actual facts but not always about true events, documentary films and those films that use humor or satire to get their point across. I think the three films that I chose fall into the last category. The first film (released in 1953) is Stalag 17, a film about American prisoners of war being held in a German prison camp. This film seems to follow the typical war movie theme, group unity for a common cause and no single hero. The movie stars William Holden who as Sergeant Sefton, a wheeler-dealer who doesn’t hesitate to trade with the guards and who has acquired goods and privileges that no other prisoner seems to have is accused of being a German spy by his fellow prisoners. The Germans always seem to be forewarned about escapes and in the most recent attempt the two men, Manfredi and Johnson, walked straight into a trap and were killed. For some in Barracks 4, especially the loud-mouthed Duke, the leaker is obvious. An officer is passing though on the way to another camp, tells of how he sabotaged an ammunition train by luck using matches. The Germans find out and now he has to hide so he can escape to avoid being shot. The director Billy Wilder created a popular film loaded with subversive subtexts, his signature cynicism and humor (although it’s sometimes a feeble attempt at humor it is humor just the same). WW II wasn’t even a decade old yet and maybe it wasn’t the right time to make a movie depicting the conditions of the German prisoner camps in such a realistic manner, but there seem to be a goldmine of possibilities within that setting for the directing genius of Wilder. By today’s standards it may be difficult to appreciate Stalag 17 as a classic film due to the TV show Hogan’s Heroes that it inspired. Wilder’s directing style, wit and perception are lost in the interpretation, but the films humor still remains. Another reason for lack of appreciation the basics of the Stalag 17’s plot have become the staple in terms of wartime incarceration and general prison-break films. Still, it is interesting to see the matter-of-fact style in an escape film. Most focus on the details of the laborate plan, but Stalag 17 follows the most practical route make a run for the fence while the guards are diverted which, when you think about it, is a more likely scenario besides how easy do you think it is to lay your hands on a pair of wire cutters in a prison camp. Broadly played, the humor, serves as a good method for getting away with the more subtle subversive aspects of the film. As Wilder once was quoted â€Å"that if one was going to tell the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you. † There is a long musical scene as one of the POWs sings while the rest celebrate Christmas by dancing with each other. The men are nice and toasted after having raided Sefton’s booze and Animal is desperately pining over Betty Grable. When Shapiro stuffs yellow straw under a bonnet as a gag, Animal thinks his dream girl has come to life and starts to dance and come on to Shapiro as he thinks Shapiro is Betty Grable. You can’t say that Sgt. Sefton is the hero of the movie, even Holden sited the unlikeability of the character, but his vicious, sharp and charismatic demeanor was enough for you to forgive him and root for him anyway. Holden’s character doesn’t change his wheeling and dealing ways at the end of the movie and one of his fellow prisoners remarks as Sefton is escaping â€Å"Maybe he just wanted to steal our wire cutters. You ever think of that? † Wilder had little use for such sentimentality and it is reflected in Stalag 17 because it’s an examination of the human condition not a moral tale. Such a cynical perspective in the depiction of actual combat would have to wait another twenty years and the dismal aftermath of two unpleasant wars to have the American audience fully ready for it. While a number of novels about World War II were able to capture such themes, Wilder was ahead of his time. Film critic Richard Corliss once suggested that, Wilder may have been â€Å"less a cynic than a premature realist. † Stalag 17’s dramatic scenes seem to hold up much better than the comedic scenes, considering many of people in the original audience had fought in the WWII and that American POWs were then being held in the current military conflict going on in Korea. It seems that the extensive comic segments might have been a used to defuse scenes that would have hit home more then than it would now. Back then I don’t think that many Americans audiences would have been willing to sit through an insistently grim POW drama. The bit about the soldier, his wife, and the baby on the doorstep must have made a few people in the audience very uneasy. It’s important to remember that this film was made and released in the early 1950’s. It is no mistake that the real traitor to American values was the head of â€Å"security† Price. At the time of the films release the congressional members of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was busy protecting American security by depriving citizens of their right to be different in very much the same ways as those depicted in the film. Like Sefton, however, Wilder is no hero. It can be argue that this is very much the film’s real message, Wilder cleverly hides it under enough comedy and plot that he runs no risk of offending Sen. McCarthy’s communist hunters. The next film Mister Roberts released in 1955 is about life on a Navy supply ship the â€Å"Reluctant† dubbed the â€Å"Bucket† by its crew. The Reluctant is commanded by an oppressive Captain Morton, who takes sadistic pleasure in undermining the crews’ morale. Lt. Doug Roberts (aka Mister Roberts) intervenes on the crew’s behalf as much as possible and watching him butt heads with the captain seems to lift the crew’s spirits while providing most their entertainment. This film doesn’t seem to follow the war movie theme. The main character Mister Roberts seems to be out for himself, with the war drawing to an end he wants to see some action. His weekly requests to be transferred are always turned down by Capt. Morton, who according to Roberts is using Roberts to promote himself. The fact that the crew is not happy with their situation is secondary to Roberts’ problem. One of the more sympathetic and insightful films from the 1950s to deal with World War II was Mister Roberts. It was an indication of the distance the public as well as filmmakers had come from the war. This distance would allow for a more sophisticated and dramatic treatment of the conflict and the people involved. Of all the films during this time that also reflect the new maturity, Mister Roberts was the most successful of them all, though getting it made properly took real work. Director John Ford was perfect for the project; he retired from the reserves as a rear admiral. Ford may have been too close to and slightly too old to do justice to the script to this subject, also he was up against the competing personality of star Henry Fonda. Fonda had scored a huge hit with the Broadway version of Mister Roberts and he had given up any hope of ever doing the movie version since he hadn’t been on-screen in eight years. Ford insisted on Fonda to star as a condition to directing the film, but the two were at odds from the beginning over the production, mostly over the director’s tendency to inject rough-house comedy into his movies. Ford used such an approach to breathe life into some of his other movies like Fort Apache. However, Mister Roberts was a character-driven film with very little real action and Fonda thought the Fords’ emphasis on laughs would destroy the integrity of the material. Ford’s demanding dictatorial directing style combined with his excessive drinking created tension between the two. Ford left the production, he was replaced by director Mervyn LeRoy who basically asked the cast to use their best judgment and make the kind of movie Ford would’ve made. The result is a finely textured character study that captured the best dramatic moments of the play. Some of the comical scenes in the movie were when the sailors discover that they can have a clear view of the nurses’ shower room in a hospital on the nearby coast by looking through binoculars. This provides them with their first release from drudgery in over a year. The ship’s morale officer, young Ensign Pulver, is also aware of the nurses and finagles a trip to the hospital to pick up aspirin for Doc. While there, he convinces head nurse, Lt. Ann Girard, to come to the ship later by promising to share a bottle of scotch with her. Back on board, Pulver is distressed to learn that Roberts, the owner of the scotch, has used it to bribe an official to send the Reluctant to a liberty port. Roberts and Doc mix up simulated scotch, called â€Å"jungle juice,† from alcohol, Coca-Cola, iodine and hair tonic for Pulver to use in place of the scotch. When the nurses appear, Pulver, With Roberts’ permission, pretends to be the ship’s cargo officer and shows them around. The nurses, who are undeceived by his pretensions, discover the sailors’ view of their quarters and leave immediately to hang curtains. Another humorous point happens during a night onshore, the men unleash all their pent-up energy, they crash an Army dance, fight with soldiers, terrorize women, steal an admiral’s goat and mistake the French Colonial governor’s mansion for a bordello. Roberts hopes the night will give them strength for the â€Å"miserable, endless days ahead of them. The next day, the ship is banished from the port. Mister Roberts also made two appearances as a TV series, once in 1965 and again in 1984. As far as public was concerned enough time had passed that most Americans were able to laugh at some of the kookier aspects about military life and Hollywood provided just the right amount of seriousness and irreverence with this 1955 hit. The third film I chose is M*A*S*H released in 1970. The movie is about a mobile army surgical hospital set in the Korean War conflict (1950-1953). This movie breaks from the traditional war theme movies. It not about any one person at any given time but it’s not about the unit as a whole either. The plot in M*A*S*H is not defined; instead the unusual characters are involved in a sequence of darkly comic episodes. M*A*S*H is a black comedy about life in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit located only three miles from the front lines. The mission of any MASH unit is to provide immediate medical treatment to those wounded in combat, and the young surgeons are always up to their elbows in blood and guts for long periods of time. When they’re off duty, the MASH unit personnel keep their sanity by pursuing a wacky, irreverent lifestyle that leads to some hilarious adventures. Some of the hilarious scenes in the movie are; they sneak a microphone under the bed of Major â€Å"Hot Lips† Houlihan, and broadcast her lovemaking to the entire camp, a tent that is pulled away from the showering Major Houlihan an attempt to settle a bet about her being a natural blonde, they drug a general and photograph him in a brothel, a Last Supper parody where a man whose impotency has made him despondent is duped into a faux suicide and a rather lengthy football game sequence. The way they present humor in â€Å"M*A*S*H,† is almost metaphysically cruel, there is something about war that inspires practical jokes and the heroes (if you can call them heroes (Donald Sutherland (Hawkeye), Elliot Gould (Trapper John) and fellow camp members) are inspired and utterly heartless. We laugh because it is so true to the sadist in all of us. There is perhaps nothing so wonderful as achieving sweet mental revenge against someone we hate with particular enthusiasm. And it is the flat-out, poker-faced hatred in â€Å"M*A*S*H† that makes it work. Most comedies want us to laugh at things that aren’t really funny; in this one we laugh because they’re not funny. We laugh, so that we do not cry. This movie depends upon timing and tone to be funny. Hawkeye, Trapper John and the members of their merry band of pranksters are offended because the Army regulars Major Burns and Houlihan who don’t feel deeply enough. They are only concern is with Army protocol and not with war. Hawkeye and Trapper John dancing on the brink of crack-ups, dedicate themselves to making them feel something. Their facade offends them; no one could be that unaffected by the work of this hospital. And so if they can crack their defenses and reduce them to their own level of dedicated cynicism, the number of suffering human beings in the camp will go up by two. Even if they fail, they have a hell of a lot of fun trying and of course, it’s a distraction to the war. Although the movie is set in Korean War, no one seeing â€Å"M*A*S*H† in 1970 confused the film for anything but a sarcastic comment on the Vietnam War. This is one of the counterculture movies that exploded into the mainstream at the end of the ’60s. Altman wanted his 1970 audience to think in terms of Vietnam, where another unpopular war was still in progress. Altman’s style of cruel humor, overlapping dialogue, and densely textured visuals brought the material to life in an all-new kind of war movie (or, more precisely, antiwar movie). Audiences had never seen anything like it: vaudeville routines played against spurting blood, fueled with open ridicule of authority. The film’s huge success spawned the long-running TV series, a considerably softer take on the material. The concept of war comes in three parts, the training, the actual combat and the repair of the casualties of the combat. Each part has it’s critics and it’s supporters, both championing for their side. Not seen in the earlier combat films was the concept of why we fought. Those wars before the Korean War were world wars with many countries involved being fought in many different countries. The Korean War and all those that followed up to the present were mostly two sided with the Americans at the spearhead of each. Yes, the United Nation forces were involved in many of these wars, but it was the Americans leading the way. After such a history, Americans could very well sustain their unity against the Axis Powers during WW II, but they could not readily accept a limited war such as the Korean War, in which negotiations with the enemy to bargain for objectives far short of his destruction accompanied the very fighting of the war. Dissents against the Korean War also were encouraged by an uneasy political atmosphere troubling the United States in 1950. WW II had produced not a satisfactory peace but an ongoing Cold War with communism led by the Soviet Union, to which the United States held out the prospect of no more triumphant but an outcome of containment. Such a change in the ways of war was perceived by Americans were truly visible in a lot of modern day war films. Reference http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359 http://www.amazon.com/Mister-Roberts-Henry-Fonda/dp/6305225761 http://www.fandango.com/misterroberts_v64788/summary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066026 http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19700101/REVIEWS/40812002/1023